Should I buy an investment property or primary residence?

[James Johnson]

Hi,

I currently rent and am contemplating whether to buy a house for myself or an investment property (duplex/triplex). The main hurdle I’m facing is that I live in a very expensive city and renting is actually cheaper than owning. My current monthly rent on a 1br apartment is $1.4k, which fits very comfortably in my budget.

Unless I move to the hood or far outside town, houses cost at least $650k and I cannot afford the monthly payment on that. 

On the flipside, there are a fair amount of duplexes/triplexes for sale in sketchy areas that I could purchase and nearly break-even from a cashflow perspective. Given how much growth my city is experiencing, I feel confident the property values will steadily increase in a short term. 

My Stats: 
Cash Available for down payment: $75k

Monthly Salary (post-tax/401k): $6k


What do you think, should I buy an investment property or a primary residence? 

Thank You!