I understand you guys’ concern about yard, but keep in mind, I’m talking about SFR in Mira Mesa with no HOA. So, you can do a number of different things to reduce the yard maintenance. You can put synthetic grass everywhere, you can fill it up w/ concrete, you can do all gravel, or you can just plainly leave it all dirt. It really depends on the type tenant you want to attract. Those are the options I can think up that eliminates your yard maintenance. You can also put it into the lease that your tenant take care of the landscape however they want. Since Mira Mesa have no HOA, it doesn’t really matter how they handle the landscape.
As for insurance, I don’t know if it’s anymore expensive than similar sq-ft townhouse. I would assume that it isn’t. Insurance is minor cost IMHO compare to the big cost like mortgage and taxes.
It really comes down to the number and which one will bring in better cash flow. One thing that might also be different between SFR vs townhouse renter is the type of renters they are. I don’t have any data to back this up, but I feel that SFR tenant are more likely to be family and long term tenant. So, it might also reduce your vacancy rate. My tenant for my SFR signed a 5 year lease. They want to stay in the same house until their oldest finish w/ HS. I think that type of tenant tend to be more attracted to SFR rental vs townhouse/condo.
