Atif Afzal knows exactly what he’s looking for in a rental property.
“It has to be townhomes,” the 39-year-old real estate investor told Business Insider. “I’m totally avoiding single-family houses.”
Afzal bought his first property in Monroe — a town about 50 miles north of New York City — in 2019. A year later, he bought a second, moved in, and filled the first with a tenant. He did that two more times and grew his portfolio to four townhomes.
In 2023, he bought his first single-family home, which he plans to live in long-term. BI verified his portfolio, which includes four long-term rentals and one primary residence, by looking at his tax cards and mortgage records.
The rental income from his townhomes — he brings in $8,500 a month from three of his units according to rental agreements viewed by BI (his fourth is currently on the market) and estimates that his average net cash flow comes out to about $5,000 a month — allows him to work as a freelance film composer and singer-songwriter without feeling financial pressure.
As a creative freelancer, “you’re unemployed until your next gig,” said Afzal, who worked at KPMG early in his career before quitting to pursue a career in the music industry. “I like to be in a good state of mind while I’m composing music. I don’t want to be worrying about housing bills and whatnot.”
His ideal investment property: A townhome in excellent condition
Afzal prefers townhomes because they require much less upkeep.
With a single- or multi-family home, “there’s a lot of maintenance that I’m responsible for myself, whether it’s the lawn, snow removal, pool maintenance, etcetera,” he said. However, with a condo or townhome, most of the maintenance is covered by a homeowners association or HOA.
There are HOA fees — his range from $370 to $458 a month, he said — but they’re worth it because they save him time and headaches, he said.
Another way he alleviates potential headaches is by buying “healthy” properties that are already in excellent shape.
“The top thing I look for is how the house has been maintained inside,” said Afzal. “I buy properties which are in the best shape possible.”
He’s not looking for a project that needs major renovations and would rather spend “an additional $20,000 upfront” than invest in more of a fixer-upper, he said. As a landlord, “the biggest problem is when your tenants keep calling you back: ‘Oh, there’s a leakage. There’s this, there’s that.'”
Since he manages all of his properties himself, he’d rather spend extra on the front end and save time and money on the back end.
Owning rental units “is a business,” he emphasized. “You want to keep your customers happy. So, the tenants — they keep me happy by paying on time, and I keep them happy by taking care of it.”
