Thanks for the comments. I have had rental properties but none in the US. Firstly, I would want to buy with cash, unless the tax advantages of a mortgage are very clearly in my favor. I wouldn’t want to manage more than two properties (tenants) myself, and may well use an agent for the first year, or two till I learned the ropes. 2-4 units does appeal but my concern is with finding this kind of property in a neighborhood that isn’t going to cause me grief. Single family homes to my mind require more maintenance, unless they are very new of course, but I would imagine the better rental areas are in the more traditional, older neighborhoods closer to downtown, shopping, work etc. I have seem some very nice apartment-type buildings, which are never for sale, always lease only. I guess syndicates buy these and you have to get in at the ground level with other investors, before they are even built. Correct? Depending on their fixed costs, these seem to make the most sense to me. They are small, new, manageable, and closer to amenities. I think there will be a shift away from urbanization, and a focus on central town planning, and building upwards due to the cost of land, which to my mind means a bigger rental market. I see this more than anywhere in downtown LA, which currently seems on hold due the economic crisis.
