My husband and I have several rental properties and are considering buying a new primary residence. We have lived in our current home for 7 years. It is almost paid off but the area is a bit rough, so we would like to get somewhere nicer for the long term with better schools (no kids yet).
We have seen a couple of houses with garage apartments. We made an offer on one but nothing worked out. They were located right by a university campus and we understand the rental environment there well.
We are now considering a house about 3 miles away which is about to be listed as an REO. While it sounds close, it is a different world, not really the same environment where people rent out to students as there isn't student housing nearby. The neighborhood is super quiet, a lot of older people (however, younger people are just beginning to move in as these folks pass away, etc), the homes are on estate lots and vary from the size of this one (3000 sq ft) to larger. There have been a few tear downs where people built monstrosities.
The house is a funky midcentury modern home with a walkout basement/split level (not sure what you call that) where the back wall is mostly glass on both levels and looks out at a foresty yard. The bottom suite has a small kitchen, bathroom, and two bedrooms.
I know a lot of folks here rent out their own home or live in a duplex type situation. Does anyone have experience with a rental like this? I am not sure what type of tenant would be most interested in a situation like this, or if it is even something we should consider. It gets us in a great central location, nice area, good school zone, but if it isn't really rentable it would be too much home for us at this point in our lives. Everyone in real life looks at me cross eyed when I mention it.