When you’re looking to buy a home, should it be a single family home with a spare room that you can rent out or should it be a duplex in which you’ll be renting out the other unit? Good investment question. In today’s video, we’ll explore the options.

In this video today, we’ll go through 3 pieces of advice you should keep an eye out for before making the final decision. And if you stay until end, we’ll even go through the best investment option.

Thank you Kelechi Wuaba
I would like to thank Kelechi for asking this question. be sure to check out his channel as well!

Advice #1 Start position
Always be sure to check out what position you are in right now. The choice isn’t that black or white, it really needs to fit your choice and your position in your life. Depending on your life choices, you’ll make choices that fit that lifestyle.

Advice #2 Price and Mortgage
A single family home seems to be a good deal around $350,000 dollars on average, compared to a duplex unit for about $250,000 dollars, but then again. If you want to purchase both duplex units, you’ll have to spend double the amount, and then, yes it’ll be more expensive, but then again… see it like this, for $500,000 dollars, you have two properties and you could rent out the other. So if your mortgage can afford the $500,000 property, absolutely buy that one as it will generate more money for the long run.

Advice #3 the Advantages
– A Single family home has a few options
o Rent it out to a lodger; in general you can charge about 100 dollars per week for them living in a spare room of your home
– This may be someone local or staying for work
– This may also an international student for example
o Rent it out as AirBnB this differs depending on location and time. this could be slightly more, compared to renting to one person for a longer period, but there might be more work to it.
o Rent it out as storage space
– No people living in your home, just someone accessing his own stuff.
– Somewhat like 200dollars per month for electricity and heating in the room.
o Rent it out to someone who’s looking for small office space.. maybe this doesn’t make that much sense, not in a single family home

Duplex has 2 options
o Rent it to another family, have a stable income, passively
o Rent it out on AirBnB, again, you’re able to ask slightly more, but there might be more work to it.

Bonus Advice: the best investment
– In the end we want to use it as investment
– It really depends in what phase you are
– Do you have a life partner, kids, and would you like to have your own privacy?
– Having a single family home is great, and if you prefer to have people around in your home, then that’s your choice
– If you prefer to have you own space, and you can afford buying a duplex, well, there you have it.
– In the end, always consider the financial gains to the things you have to give up in life for that.