I've done real estate investing for years. I sold out now, so I'm not a landlord anymore, but thinking about getting back in after everything shakes out.
All I have to say for any of you would-be investors and landlord is this:
ALWAYS buy a place with a parking spot and storage locker. Doesn't matter if it costs you an extra $40,000. Do it. You'll make it back later and will help you sell it later. I've never done this, but if you want, you can even sell the property as one deed (if a buyer only cares about the unit), and sell off the parking spot separately.
Residential parking spots in condos are always at a premium because they only allot them as per how many people want them. From there, if you deperately need a spot, you either buy/rent off someone else's spare spot, or beg the builder to sell you a spare parking spot they have reserved for themselves.... which they probably won't.
One of the condo properties I bought 10 years had a hard time selling due to this. I still made money, but it was much harder to sell. I was thinking it would be easy and any of the million downtowners wouldn't give a shit about cars and I'd have tons of people lining up to buy my brand new clean condo.
Lesson learned.
My properties always have a locker too. Possibly a bigger mistake not having a locker either, as everyone treats their locker as a mini garage where they put away all their old boxes, gear, etc..... Older condos don't even have bike racks, so people treat their personal locker as bike storage too. I'm going to take a guess that all new buildings have bike racks now. But just in they don't, it makes a locker a must as the buyer will put their bike there.
