Buying a single family house or multi-family house to rent it out, which way is more profitable?

Usually a multi-family has better cash flow but higher expenses. Overall, a multi-family is usually more profitable.

you don't make any "profit" while living in a single family house - only when you sell and there are lots of factors that could affect "profit" 10 yrs from now. The first $250k of capital gains is tax free.

With a multifamily home - you have others helping you pay the mortgage and taxes which allows you to save and invest more money WHILE you are living in the house and when you sell, you're still making a profit. not sure about taxable portion of capital gains with mixed use house - some primary residence and some rental

It depends on so many things.

1) What is the house price, and how much of a mortgage do you need?

2) What is the typical rental value in the area? What is the market like - saturated with vacant rentals, or low on availability?

Is the rental value enough to cover the increased expense of purchasing a multi-family home?

You need to run some cash flow analysis on the options you are considering and then project for the period of time you expect to hold the investment to see which has the best potential for profit both now and after taxes- you may experience a negative cash flow now on one, but the long term after tax benefits may be better. Your agent should be able to assist you in doing this.

if you are able to buy a multi family home. attached to your primary home and rent it out, that will be the smart thing to do. if you can 'watch' your rental and make sure it's taken care of, do that. it can be a headache, but if you get the right people in there, and you can keep it up, you will get the tax write off, their rent should cover the mortgage/taxes/insurance, you will eventually get the equity. good luck

at the start.. be careful... something that sounds too good to be actual probable is... getting money from units you hire out isn't on the instant income... you're able to pay assets taxes, very own income taxes, disguise upkeep like leaky pipes and roofs. I doubt you're able to detect a suitable dwelling house to purchase for 60K that did not decide for an outstanding variety of paintings. you will possibly probable could purchase one plenty extra high priced or do an outstanding variety of the paintings your self. in case you do not have a job or different secure income you will not have the flexibility to get a private loan to disguise the the remainder of the fee. there is expertise in chatting with human beings interior the industry. i'm nerve-racking which you're able to get burned in this difficulty.

Depends

Cost of home, amount of rental, amount of upkeep, repairs, etc.

Frequently having a two or three flat can bring a better return than a single family home, but depends on house, area, etc.