I'm brand new to the notion of landlording, but interested, and just noticed a $265,000 triplex for sale in the neighborhood I'm interested in: good schools, inside a city and near the hip part, house prices increasing, most nearby houses are much more expensive and other local landlords have reported no problem finding tenants within a few days. This one is lovely at 100 years old, but seems to need a lot of of renovation work (last renovation was in the 1960s!) but is at least in good enough shape that it's currently fully rented. There's a lot of details about the work it needs that we don't know yet. My partner and I have cash for the down payment, and other $ we could access from stock sales for renovation work. Our combined income is about a little under 100k per year before taxes but we're low-spenders. I'm interested in getting a mortgage before rates go up, and diversifying.
We could either live in one unit and rent out the others or rent out all three. (We currently rent, but with a VERY good deal for our location that we've been reluctant to give up, and in a place we love; this would be moving 45 minutes away, but wouldn't affect our commute since both work from home). All units are one BR/one bath; stand-alone 1 BRs nearby rent for 900-1200. I don't yet know the current rental prices for the units. PITI calculator suggests overall mortgage etc costing $1273 per month, which is what we're currently paying in rent.
My question.... obviously there's a lot more to learn, but should we even be thinking seriously about this property? It seems like a good deal but of course it might be a money pit. Or is it nuts to think about starting with something requiring so much renovation when we're inexperienced in that world and not particularly handy? Are there serious costs I'm not considering besides renovation and upkeep, or ways you suggest thinking about that? One red flag on the sales history is that a deal at the same price seems to have fallen through this summer.
Thanks for any thoughts!