Local apartments vs. distant single unit rentals

I am in the single family residnce camp. My reasoning is that their are many displaced home owners (foreclosure) that would like to still live in a home. You have more options to resale, to a wider group of people. You could offer your SFR on Contract for deed for 40yrs at 10% and collect the cashflow every month AND not have to worry about maintaining them because the tenant/buyer is responsible. You could lease option them or just strictly rent them, and sell them 5-10years down the road. Your buyer pool is bigger for SFR rather than MFR. That's just my opinion.

Cathy

Thank you so much. The resale aspect certainly makes sense and I never considered the lease option. I've been told by some that buying a multiunit is a greater safety net because if one unit doesn't rent, you still have the others; if an sfr doesn't rent, you're out 100%. What do you think? Also, is a rental a good deal even if the cash flow is minimal but positive, or does it have to meet a specific minimal margin?

pascua,

That is a good argument that I too am considering. However, as cathyb shared, the market now is ripe for sfr leases; and as such, should not have difficulty locating tenants.

But...

Owning multi-units can cover some losses when one or two are vacnant.

I'm looking for both, with a stronger emphasis on sfr properties. If the right multi-unit comes along, I might just have to consider it.

Rick