Norfolk, VA · Member since 2013 · 13 posts · 3 votes
Hi all,
Still looking for my first multifamily...Seven months into the search. But no purchase is still better than making a bad one, right? I'm looking at a fourplex now, 2 2-bedrooms, 2 3-bedrooms, with no central ac. In each main area there is an existing window a/c unit. My question is, do apts with no central ac rent for less than those that do? (Of course?) Would any of you buy a rental property with only window a/c? (Depends on the deal?) And if so, then should I also supply a window unit for each bedroom ( I would provide one for the main area), or let the tenant supply their own? Would it affect the rentability if I did not outfit the bedrooms.
Where are you buying the property? I would say area location and demographic is going to determine the market. If you are buying the multi-family in Norfolk, VA . I would be VERY careful about not buying a place without central AC.
We just came from Norfolk and I can speak from experience. It is VERY hot during the summer. You are going to greatly reduce your audience by not having central AC. The audience who doesn't care. Do you want them as tenants?
i would buy a property without central a/c if I could buy it low enough, add central a/c and still achieve the numbers I want.
but depending on the part of Norfolk it's in, you may not even have to go through that trouble. in some areas it quite common and acceptable to have window a/c.
as for letting tenants supply/install their own a/c, I wouldn't let them. i'm biased against letting tenants install fixtures after some experiences in my mom's rental. it's amazing how people can mess up the simplest task.
if buying 10 window units doesn't break the bank and doesn't greatly affect your return then go for it. it's definitely favorable to have a/c in the bedroom from a tenant's view.