Vacant vs Occupied: Purchasing first quadplex

[Jonathan Avalos]

Hi everyone,

My name is Jon Avalos, first time posting, working on purchasing my first investment property.

I've narrowed my search down to tri/quadplexes. However, I'm wondering what other investors have experienced when purchasing a vacant MF home? In your experience, what were some of the reasons the property was fully vacant? Did this serve as more of an advantage or disadvantage for your strategy? How long did it take to get all units rented? 

Ideally, I would like the property to be vacant so I can do the remodel work myself and potentially attract higher quality tenants. But if the property was completely vacant or trashed, is this a better indicator of the quality of tenants in the area or the quality of the prior property manager/owner?

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated, thanks!