Different types of housing offer different benefits to landlords and real estate investors. In this video, Rentec Direct’s Kaycee Miller discusses the types of housing best suited for rental properties, giving you a foundation for understanding how to pick a property that will generate income.
When it comes to rental properties, there are several types of housing you might consider adding to your portfolio. Each type of housing comes with unique characteristics and potential for generating rental income. Whether you’re an experienced investor or exploring rental properties for the first time, understanding these property types is crucial in making informed investment decisions.
In this video, I talk about the different housing types and how they might fit into a landlord’s portfolio. I explore residential and commercial rental properties and how they differ when it comes to rental management, and what option can help you determine the type of housing that will generate rental income.
Types of Housing for Rental Property Investors – Video Transcript
I want to think about types of rental housing.
There are a lot of different property types out there, but what is the best type when it comes to renting out a property and generating rental income?
My name is Kaycee Miller. I work with Rentec Direct property management software. I’m also a landlord, a property investor, and a real estate developer. I’ve also been in the industry for over a decade, and I’ve written thousands of articles for the Rentec Direct Blog and across the rental industry for various websites.
I’m here today to talk about rental property types and what exactly it takes to consider a property and evaluate whether or not it’s gonna be the right investment property for you.
Categories of Rental Properties
So, when we think about rental properties in real estate, what kind of property types are there? Actually, let’s take a step back. It’s not just property types, but also, what category of rental housing these property types fall into.
There are residential rental properties, vacation rental properties, and commercial rental properties. Now, within each of those categories, there are going to be different types of structures and property types that really fit into that type of housing category.
Residential Rental Properties
When I think about residential real estate and residential rental property, that’s what I have the most experience with and residential housing is what I personally invest in the most.
I like to break down those different housing types and really think about what they are and how they fit in the neighborhood. I also think about what kind of tenants and what kind of rental income we might generate based on those top property types.
So, when you think of a rental property, what do you think of? Apartments? A house? A duplex?
Yep, that’s it. You got it. Those are the major different residential rental property types. So let’s talk about each of these different housing types.
Single-Family Homes
A single-family home is a standalone home that one family or one household would live in.
Multifamily Properties
Next, we get into multifamily properties. This includes any property with multiple dwelling units attached or detached on the same property or site.
This is where we think about duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, or small apartment communities with an eight-plex or a couple of fourplexes on it.
There are also those really large apartment complexes that might have a hundred or even a thousand units.
The Difference Between Properties, Units, and Doors
In rental real estate terms, you might hear the terms “property” and “unit.”
For instance, someone with single-family rental properties might say, “I have four properties.” But if you’re more familiar with multifamily rental properties, “four properties” might mean four different buildings or four different multifamily properties with more units.
So, someone could say, “I have four properties but actually have 200 units,” meaning each property has 50 units. Or, they might mean just four single-family units or a mix of single-family homes, duplexes, or ADUs.
Units vs. Doors
When someone talks about how many properties they own, manage, or have, I always like to clarify, “What exactly does that mean?” In my experience, when I say “property,” I might be referencing what someone else calls units. Some people refer to them as “doors,” so they might say, “I have four properties but 200 doors.” That number could reflect the physical doors that lead into the household dwelling units.
Commercial Properties
Commercial properties are categorized a bit differently. These often involve one large building with multiple separate units.
When you think of a commercial property, are you imagining a strip mall with windows, doors, and individual tenants? That’s one example of a classic commercial property.
Commercial properties can also be mixed-use, with a residential property on top and a commercial property on the bottom.
Typically, commercial properties are rented by businesses. Some may even look like standalone houses with separate office spaces inside. Commercial properties are treated just a bit differently from residential rental properties.
Evaluating Property Types for Your Portfolio
It’s always interesting to consider these different housing types and how they can shape the real estate portfolio you want to own or manage.
My name is Kaycee, and I’m from Rentec Direct. Today, we touched on housing types within residential rental properties and considered the differences between residential housing and commercial properties. I like to share this information because I think it helps form a clearer picture of what we mean when we talk about rental properties.
Thanks for stopping by today!
You can always check out this and more information on the Rentec Direct Blog. I look forward to talking to you soon and helping you discover my favorite types of residential rental properties to invest in.