Investing in single family homes? Not a business for the faint at heart, but it can be done. Here are my three unwritten, until now, rules for buying single family homes. I've learned these rules the hard way...trail and error, blood sweat and tears.
1. The house should not be up a hill or down a hill. If the drive way is steep either way, stay clear of it. The house is best to be above the level of the street. Five to six feet is ideal.
2. Two to three turns maximum to reach the house from a main road. Any more and your potential tenant will get bored looking for it. I know it sounds strange. But, the easier the house is to find the easier it is to find tenants.
3. Buy a house that has curb appeal, or give it curb appeal. Sometimes, it just needs a coat of paint or landscaping. But, be careful and stay away from houses with architecture that can't be changed without major costs. Make sure that you would want to live there. If you wouldn't live there then it's likely that your pool of tenant candidates will be decreased.