Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2016 · 12 posts · 1 vote
Hi Everyone,
I am looking to househack in Texas, mostly looking at the DFW area, but am open to other cities as well. I'm looking into purchasing a multifamily house, but most of the multifamilies on realtor.com or other mls websites are sold as half-duplex. What is the reason for this? It seems to me that it would be more profitable and easier to manage if houses were in multiple units as opposed to one.
Real Estate Agent · Keller, TX · Member since 2017 · 850 posts · 825 votes
9y
@Vincent Chau You can buy full duplexes here in Texas. I helped a client acquire a full duplex recently here in Ft. Worth. I agree half duplexes are more common. But send me a PM and I can set you up with a custom MLS search for full duplexes here in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area.
Rental Property Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2013 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votes
9y
Interesting. I just bought a group of 80 duplexes and some of the individual ones bought earlier were later sold as individual units. Just one "side".
I think the "why" is easy. In the case of the ones I bought, they were selling the full duplex for $100k or $60k per side.
Investor · Austin, TX · Member since 2013 · 662 posts · 1k+ votes
9y
Just keep looking, I would not recommend buying only a half of a duplex. Usually there is no HOA or agreement on who is responsible for the upkeep of the duplex. Landscaping and roof cost as well as tenant quality can become contentious.
Why are they being sold individually. Simply because the seller can get more by selling them individually. I started seeing this phenomenon in California years ago when housing prices were very costly. I am seeing this more in Austin, TX now that home prices here have skyrocketed. Sellers have to get the home re-platted and set them up like a condo. There is a cost for doing that but some sellers have decided it is easier to find two $120k buyers than one $240k buyer.
Rental Property Investor · Austin, TX · Member since 2016 · 361 posts · 394 votes
9y
Most of the half duplexes I see in Austin are teardown & rebuild projects selling each side for $500K+. They are top of the line properties and worth much more as each side owner-occupied. I haven't really seen this for investment multifamily, and I wouldn't recommend purchasing one. At least in Austin you can find plenty of investment multifamily for sale, unfortunately 99% of it is wildly overpriced.
Attorney / Multifamily Investor · Houston, TX · Member since 2009 · 173 posts · 136 votes
9y
I hate to make any assumptions, but I would assume these duplexes have been converted to condominiums so they can be sold one side at a time. Condo conversions were all the rage in Texas for a while, though I hadn't heard of a lot of duplexes being converted like that.
Real Estate Agent · Keller, TX · Member since 2017 · 850 posts · 825 votes
9y
@Vincent Chau You can buy full duplexes here in Texas. I helped a client acquire a full duplex recently here in Ft. Worth. I agree half duplexes are more common. But send me a PM and I can set you up with a custom MLS search for full duplexes here in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area.