Santiago: 180 m² warehouse or small multifamily?

C

corner.good

Buyer
This is my first time choosing between property types. In Santiago, I’m comparing a 180 m² warehouse with a similarly priced small multifamily property. The warehouse appears simpler to maintain, while the multifamily option spreads tenant risk and offers more control over income, but may bring larger irregular bills and more management.

I’m already modelling transaction fees, insurance, energy use and resale liquidity. What tends to be missed after year one—vacancies, shared-building reserves, tenant turnover, major repairs or something else? A practical comparison checklist would help.
 
I wouldn’t assume the warehouse is simpler. It may have fewer day-to-day issues, but roof work, access problems, electrical capacity or changes required for a new tenant can arrive as one large expense. It also concentrates vacancy risk in a single occupier.

Multifamily usually means more frequent small repairs and turnover work. Compare both after allowing for vacancy, management time and tenant-specific work, not just routine maintenance.
 
One missing fact could change the comparison: is the multifamily property an entire building, or several units within a shared building? In the latter case, reserves and collective decisions may reduce your control. I’d also establish whether utilities are separately metered and what each property’s insurance actually excludes. Micro-location matters too, because warehouse demand and residential demand can differ sharply within Santiago.
 
That distinction helps. I had treated shared-building reserves as a generic annual cost, but an entire building and units under shared management clearly need different models. I’ll separate those scenarios rather than assuming the multifamily option always gives more control. I also need to test the warehouse as a single-tenant vacancy rather than applying the same vacancy percentage to both.
 
Getting the demand assumption wrong would hurt more than a slightly inaccurate maintenance estimate, because vacancy and a difficult resale are not quickly corrected.

The warehouse puts all the income risk into one tenant and may appeal to a narrower group of future buyers. The multifamily option spreads vacancy across units, but turnover and management recur. I would compare a warehouse with no rent for six or twelve months against one empty residential unit combined with a major common-area bill. That should show which risk is tolerable and which choice would be hardest to unwind.
 
Build a side-by-side schedule with four columns: recurring costs, turnover costs, infrequent capital work and owner time. Then add separate exit scenarios for a quick sale and a normal marketing period.

Before deciding, obtain property-specific insurance indications, inspect the roof and building systems, clarify utility metering and shared obligations, and compare realistic tenant demand in each exact area. Chilean legal, lease and tax details should be confirmed locally, but those steps should expose which assumptions are carrying the decision.
 
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