The mistake almost every first-time buyer makes is choosing the property they want to live in and then trying to rent it. Owner-taste homes — big, remote, personal, three bedrooms up a dirt track — rent badly. Renter-taste homes are boring by comparison: one or two bedrooms, within a ten-minute walk of both the beach and a café strip, air conditioned, tiled, easy to clean, and forgiving of hard use.
Size is the highest-leverage decision. Two one-bedroom units almost always out-earn one three-bedroom house at the same purchase price, because they fill more nights of the year and you can renovate or lose one without losing all income. If the plot allows a second small unit, that flexibility is worth paying for.
