re: $25,000 to invest. Where to put it?

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I've just been thinking about rental condos recently but always figured that 1 expensive place would get me a "better" tenant ie no worries about bills paid on time and the odds of them being hooligans being less.

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The hybrid approach, which I didn't really discuss, is the multi-unit, too. Quadplexes, Octoplexes, 12 and 24 unit apartment complexes are a way to combine the approaches. Once you get to 12 and up, you almost certainly have an onsite manager. You have centralized location to manage rent, maintenance, etc. - you also have a single transaction cost, with the benefit of multiple units. You can also find opportunities where someone is selling with a fairly well established tenant base.

However, the bigger units get pricey. And they don't necessarily age well. You can dodge a little bit of the renovation (just refresh, touch up the inside between tenants), but periodically it can be a big cost. With your background, this approach might serve you better, because I think you will be more comfortable with the concepts. Not necessarily start with a 24, but perhaps a 4 (you might get a property management to take that for you) or better an 8-plex - you might still be spending $500k or $600k on it, but have, potentially 8 renters to spread that out.

I like real estate as an investment - I just can't afford it right now.

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I was thinking about getting a hotel rental unit but I was curious about the pros and cons of investing the same amount in 1 vs multiple units. Thanks again

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When my brother in law went through his "transition" to being single, he bought a 4-plex and lived in one unit. The neighborhood was a little dicey, but he perservered and added a couple of more units (he's got a good day job with good income, like you). Although he ultimately cashed out of the business after a few years, he did very well - and that was in Hammond/Pontchatoula. Miami seems even better - you'll have more choices, more upside.

If you're going to live in the multi-unit to start, you might be able to jump right to a 12 or so (or maybe do the 8 like I suggested earlier.)

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Higher potential cashflow than a large single family home

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Per unit? not necessarily. Many factors are applied. define large.

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and much easier management than having multiple properties.

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not necessarily yet again. Many different factors are used in this as I stated above.

Per unit? Absolutely not.

Overall? Of course many factors go into it, but IMO an apt complex would be more consistent than renting a $500,000 single family home, all things equal.

Perhaps if you lived in an area that could easily rent out a large single family home then that would be ideal, as single family homes are much less hassle, but that doesn't seem feasible in the area I live.

And yes, many factors play into management, but IMO having all units and tenants on one site would seem to be easier than multiple units spread around a city. Not to mention you are making a single purchase, as oppose to many different purchases.

As you said, its all about knowing the market, so all this is speculation regardless.

apartment complexes can be great. But they can have just as many problems also even with managers on site. Multi-units are great to cover any vacancies however with a bunch of SFH's you are covered the same way. It is nice having multi-units on one property though no doubt.

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What is pre science?

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