Updated over 7 years ago on . Most recent reply
Buying apartment complex
Hello!
Does anyone know if there is a possibilty to buy a apartment complex with little/none money and to get a good cashflow with the units you are renting out?
Most Popular Reply
Nor would you want to without experience and education in managing and analyzing deals for buy 'n hold investments. You have to crawl before you walk. Although I've never purchased an apartment complex, though have recently started looking into it for my future, I will take a "not so wild" guess that purchasing a bad deal becomes exponential when it's an apartment complex as opposed to a SFH or 2-4 unit MFH. Lots of info all over BP, including recommendations for books on all different types of RE investing.
I think one of the best ways to start and get your feet wet, after due diligence in learning about RE, is a house-hack. A house-hack is buying a multi-family property (2-4 units) as your own personal residence. Live in one unit and rent out the others. As an owner-occupied property, you'll enjoy a better interest rate and can get away with a 3-5% down payment, depending on the condition of the house. However, do NOT do this on a shoestring. When you're a LL, it's your responsibility to fix things that break. And things break, lol. Not if. When. You need a reserve fund in place for such events.
Quite frankly, you might find you don't even like being a LL. Many people don't. It's not always the "puppies and rainbows" passive cash flow that HGTV likes to pretend it is, lol. In fact, I guarantee you there are times when it is not.