It’s a great time to invest in multi-family properties in Orlando. If you’re looking for a new investment opportunity, consider a duplex, a four-plex, or even a small apartment building. It’s a good way to diversify your portfolio of investment properties. It can also deliver higher cash flow and better ROI.
Renting out a unit in a multi-family property is a little different than renting out a single-family home. Today, we’re helping you understand the benefits and the challenges.
Protection against Vacancy Costs
When you are renting out one single property, a vacancy can be devastating. You don’t earn any money on an unoccupied property, and you still have to keep up with certain expenses while it’s empty such as landscaping and utilities. With a multi-family property, you have rent coming in from several sources. So, if you find yourself with a vacant unit, you’re in a much better position to absorb the vacancy costs than if you’re working solely with single-family homes.
Maintenance Work is Efficient
Maintenance is expensive, so you should take advantage of any opportunity to make the process less costly and more efficient. With a multi-family property, this is easier to accomplish, especially when preventative maintenance work needs to be done. For example, when it’s time to inspect the air conditioning unit in one property, you can have all of your units checked at the same time. This gives you a single bill and you can check that item off the list for all of your rental homes. Landscaping, exterior maintenance, roofing, and other maintenance expenses are easily consolidated when you own multi-family property.
Managing Tenant Relations
You may be more involved in handling your tenant relationships when you’re working with a multi-family property. You could be called upon to handle tenant disputes, especially if someone is playing loud music, parking in another resident’s space, or not cleaning up after pets. A strong lease will help you in this situation as well as open communication with all of your tenants.
Paying for Utilities
When you rent out a single-family home, the tenant is usually expected to set up their own accounts with the electric company, cable company, and water/trash company. With a multi-family building, it may make more sense for you to maintain control over the utilities and then charge the tenants back for what they use. This is not always the best option, but depending on the size and the way your utilities work, it might be best for all parties and more reliable for you.
Working with a professional Orlando property management company is always a good idea, regardless of property type. With a multi-family building, it’s even more important. You have more liabilities, more tenants, and more potential for things to go wrong. We can help. Whether you want to work with us to identify a great investment opportunity or you already own multi-family units and you need some management help, we’d love to talk with you. Please contact us at Park Avenue Property Management.