Larger single building vs multiple smaller buildings?
I'm looking at several different possibilities for investing in a multifamily property. There are a few 4 - 9 unit buildings I have been looking at in my price range, but I'm not really excited about any of them. They all need work. Some have existing tenants, I would prefer a vacant building. Not really a lot of choices in the area I want this to be in.
I'm starting to think about maybe developing something new on bare land. I've found a 12 acre parcel that is already approved for at least an 8 home subdivision and maybe more that I can afford.
I need to look closer at what is allowed, but my thinking is I could build, one at a time, up to eight duplexes, triplexes, or quads. Each could be on a separate tax lot so they could be sold individually in the future if desired. I don't have the money right now to go and build a single 10+ unit building, but if I build them 2-4 units at a time I could probably make it work. Each building would have more than an acre of land so they would have bigger yards for tenants.
Has anybody done anything like this? If you could have your choice of a single 10 unit building, or five duplexes, which would you choose? I tend to think that a duplex would rent for more than the same unit in an apartment building, but the building cost per tenant is probably higher. If the tenants are more spread out they are probably more likely to get along.