I've read on here many accounts of the different types of houses we own as landlords. I see older ones, apartments over stores, stores converted to apartments, 2 and 3 story places and more.

My favorite type of house is a rectangle. One story. A basic rectangle, maybe with an attached garage.

Small older (pre 1978) houses are sometimes ok, but most other types, I'm not interested in for the long run. Just do a quick cleanup, minimum fix up and flip them.

What I like about them is they are simple and do the job.

What I don't like are the older ones that have been added to, usually several times, roofs a mess of bad tie ins, poor layout. Plumbing, electric and heating/cooling a big mess. The great big places-- too much floor area for the price. I've found that a bedroom rents for about the same if it is 10x10 or 14x18. Hallways rent for nothing and so on. Why buy 2500+ square feet only to get 300-400 square feet of bedrooms?

Just give me a late 70's to 80's simple one story tract house or a 1978 or later mobile home. Easy to fix and maintain.

No asbestos, no lead paint, no cut up roof, no bad layouts.

We got for the smallest houses we can find - most of ours are more like cubes - sorry squares - than rectangles. :)

East Coastal living: storms and floods are a fact of life. Around here it is very unusual to find a one-story 3/2 ranch home. A home that size would usually be elevated. Stairs are a given here on a home of any kind of size.

But you do get mightily sick of them during a renovation - my husband can attest to that.

Guess I had not thought about it much but I do like my duplexes that are simple squares even though they are two story.

Split side by side. Entrance doors by each other. Mirror images. Bedrooms upstairs. Stairs next to each other. Open concept down with kitchen/dining/living room and then the bath off to the side.

Have ten units all alike. Makes it easier for when I know a rehab is coming up or when I am looking to buy something.

Now that I think about it I have a few more places without the hallways.

Zero, we have at least two MHs that are TINY! 1.5 bedrooms. I think they were actually work trailers in another life, as you would see on a construction site: a bedroom, bathroom, a small kitchen, tiny LR, and another small room (7x7 or so) that we think would have been a sales office maybe? Anyway, fixed up they are a cute small home for ONE person. We have a third one like that but someone added a huge great room - based on old pictures, they seem to have enclosed a carport area. And a third one to which someone added a large sunroom *and* an addition that became an ADU.

Never would have guessed you had anything in the 3/2 range.

That must be like a McMansion compared to your normal sized units!

I looked at a house years ago that had a travel trailer built into the middle of it. One of the rounded top versions. Wasn't aware of it until I walked into a room with a short ceiling, all paneled and it was circular at the top.

I agree with your assessment.

It is amazing how any additions are always a mess from the ground up.

I like SFH 1 story, usually 2br 1b.

Problem here is there are a lot of older homes, and of coarse not taken care of. Seems difficult to find newer, but not new, homes around here.

This is a great topic, and one I had in my company tactical information and often discussed with my wife. Rectangles are good, and L-shaped are fine too. I had lots of "no way" things on my list...below are a few. I'm not saying all these are "bad" things...just don't want them in a rental. For example, nothing wrong with septic systems...just don't trust tenants not to put bleach down the drains and ruin the natural microbial process.

No...

1) In-law suites

2) Wood stoves

3) Swimming pools

4) Room additions

5) Garages converted to living space

6) Septic systems

7) Any house older than 1950 or so

8) Asbestos siding if not in great shape

9) Log homes

10) Manufactured homes

11) Houses with EIFS siding

12) Houses with a "berm" or hill directing rainwater towards the house

13) Laundry in basement (unless it could be easily moved up)

14) In top 10% of priced houses in neighborhood

15) Lead pipe

I'm sure I left a few things out too

I love asbestos siding.

When it looks bad the owner drops his price.

I cover it with vinyl and the neighbors love me.

My best golden geese are post WW2 bungalows built from the late 40's until mid 60's. 750-850 sqft, 2 br 1 bath (sometimes 3 br), pier and beam makes it easy to repair/replace plumbing and electrical. May have attached or detached garage. They are grouped in a few adjoining neighborhoods that are mostly solid C class blue collar neighborhoods. I don't know why but it's a rarity if they have been added on to, usually it's a garage that was turned into a bedroom.

Smaller houses are cheaper to maintain, cheaper to buy, but the rent's are higher per square foot that the bigger/newer ones so the returns are higher.

No one here cares about asbestos or lead paint. I have a stack of those old asbestos shingles in storage so I can replace one here or there when it gets broken which rarely happens. Those things are pretty indestructible, I would rather have them than vinyl which tends to get destroyed in our wind storms. How many other forms of siding are still going strong after 80 years of service.

Gkarl, if you like old homes, go for it. But for me it wasn’t the right fit. As a home inspector for 7 years I saw all the issues…galvanized plumbing that clogged up, orangeburg drain pipes that collapsed, lack of proper grading that caused water intrusion and eventually foundation failures, 2 prong outlets, aluminum wiring, poor attic ventilation, plaster that list its grip on the lath, and the list goes on and on. We’ve learned so much about house building and IMO the houses improved a lot through the 50s and 60s.

Yes, there are still issues with newer homes…some of them significant such as ventilation due to how tightly homes are built…but I still prefer newer homes. Modern trusses work well, dimensional shingles last linger, perimeter drainage systems and better grading have all but eliminated water intrusion issues, and so on.

I’m sure I’ll get lots of hate mail now from those who have old homes…but each of us can buy what we want!

6x6, EIFS is fine if meticulously installed…but any slight damage can be devastating.

airestoration.com/eifs-problems/#:~:text=Those%20cracks%20in%20the%20face,leads%20to%20mold%20and%20rotting.

Richard,

You are wise to be able to see and know what you and more importantly your customers like. Around here, we are not getting any younger. I foresee ranch style home staying popular for quiet some time.

Mike, I based my comments on over 1,500 inspections I did over 7 years. Things could be different in your experience or other areas of the country. In new neighborhoods, most developers build swales between each lot that promote water runoff away from the house.