I Could Buy a Multi-Family House for Cheap. Here's Why I Refuse

I certainly haven't been shy about my intention to buy a home of my very own in 2024. One of my favorite activities is walking around my neighborhood, listening to a podcast, and dreaming about what it might be like to live in some of my favorite local houses. When a home goes on the market, I look up the Zillow listing to see how much it's going for -- and what the inside looks like.

Yes, this is a silly preoccupation, but since I genuinely love my current neighborhood, it would be wonderful to buy a house here. By taking the time to investigate homes for sale locally, I figure I'm giving myself a leg up on budgeting for a mortgage loan. After all, as of this writing, the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage loan is 7.57%, according to Freddie Mac -- if I could save money on a mortgage by buying a less expensive house, that would help my finances.

One thing I've noticed about my neighborhood is how many multi-family properties are for sale for low, low prices. I live in one of these now as a renter, and you might assume I'd be down to buy one, especially if I can get one for half the cost of a single-family home. You'd be wrong, though. Here's why.

Multi-family homes are cheap -- but why?

Simply put, these homes are priced so low compared to many other listings in my city because they are in poor condition. There are a few reasons for this.

First, many of them have been rental properties for many years. And it's an unfortunate fact a lot of landlords are not as proactive about maintenance and repairs (and even just general upkeep) as they might be for a home they lived in themselves. And since renters are not expected to perform maintenance tasks, they fall by the wayside.

A lot of the multi-family houses in my city are on the older side -- meaning, early 20th century. A century-old home that's had uneven maintenance over a long period isn't exactly appealing if you're hoping to become a homeowner and not immediately dump a ton of money into a property.

It seems likely that many of these multi-family homes will be bought by investors as rental properties -- thereby continuing the cycle of landlords who don't invest in upkeep and renovations, and renters who don't have the means or obligation to do so, either. Others may sit on the market -- when I was researching to write this story, I saw some Zillow listings for multi-family homes in my ZIP code that were months old. In a market where homes are snapped up in a few days, max, this is extremely telling.

I'm glad my days of multi-family living are nearly over

As I noted above, I rent the top half of a multi-family home now. So I'm already extremely familiar with the challenges of living in such a property. My rental didn't undergo any heavy-duty (and badly needed) renovations before I moved in and there's a lot of, shall we say, quirks that I live with.

The windows in the kitchen, dining room, and living room are extremely old and in very poor condition -- I feel the winter wind in my living room if I don't seal the windows with plastic sheeting. And the electrical wiring here is such that I can't run my living room air conditioner and my hair dryer or microwave at the same time, or I'll trip a fuse. And said air conditioner, microwave, and hair dryer are in three different rooms. In short, living here can be a challenge, despite the changes I've made.

Single-family homes are what I'm looking for

I won't be buying a multi-family house. I have no desire to spend a ton of money on renovations and bringing a home up to modern electrical code before I can feel safe and comfortable living there. I also don't want to be a landlord myself. And I don't want to buy such a large home (many of the multi-family homes for sale near me are upward of 3,000 square feet, divided into two or more living spaces) for just my cats and me.

Instead, I'll be focusing my search on small single-family homes that have been cared for. I'm not expecting to purchase a newer property at my price point (plus, there aren't really any newer homes in this area), but based on my time poring over Zillow listings, there are affordable homes here that will work for me. I expect to have to make some changes to a home I buy -- at the very least, I'll be painting (because wall colors are a very personal choice). But ideally, whatever fixes and repairs I have to make to a home will be covered by the cash in my savings account.

If you're hoping to get a mortgage and buy a home yourself, it's worth taking the time to research the kinds of properties that are for sale in your city -- and thinking about your own needs and wants as a prospective homeowner. The more you can narrow down what you're looking for before it's time to buy, the easier time you'll have of finding the perfect home when the time comes.