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First Buy, Higher value home, or apartment?

Hi, my wife and are mid 50's  and looking to diversify our portfolio by adding rental units. My goal is to purchase a unit by Q2 2017 and if things go well continue to add properties at the rate of one per year.  I've been spending the past few months reading about the positives and negative's of all aspects including tax, etc.  I realize there are a lot of variables depending where the property is located but I'm curious to hear people's thoughts on whether it is best to buy a higher end home in a nicer neighborhood  and aim for a younger family and higher rent.  Or, are the margins much greater for  Smaller apartment or condo units in less desirable areas? I think my biggest concern with this approach is the higher headche factor with the tenants  in  this sector.  I am still working but I have the time to manage the property myself.  Again, I realize there are many variables including the purchase price, cash on cash received etc. but just wanted to get some general opinions on this

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I would suggest you do an NOI [Net Operating Income] analysis on the various properties you are considering. [There are a lot of xls forms around to help you do this,] Then weigh the area and amount of time you're expecting to have to engage in with each property. My wife and I have been doing this for a number of years and we like to stay in the higher end but not on the HIGH end. The higher the rent, the fewer potential renters, in general, but higher quality tenants. Duplexes, Triplexes, and quads are what we like. Recently we were able to find a 2br 1ba little house [1050sf] with attached garage, on 0.4 acre for $74k. We put another $5500 into it and were able to rent it for $925. It's located in a nice area on a dead end street very close to shopping. Have great tenants, in their 50's, no pets non-smokers. Husband retired and wife close to retirement.   Good luck Jim- OR
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