First time buyer house-hack a Duplex... Financing Question

[Nicholas Ziegler]

My wife and I are in our mid 20's and are looking for our first home. We want to house hack and live in one side of a duplex. It seems like an FHA loan is our best bet. We have about 3 grand saved and need to keep saving. My question is whats a good goal to save for before we start looking for a duplex. Obviously for the down payment and fees, but also for reserve cash? We are in the San Antonio area and from what I've seen a decent duplex goes for about $160,000.

Any thoughts on financing a first house and how to do that would be really helpful. 

Thank you

[Betty Cruz]

Nicholas Ziegler Hi Nicholas! Sounds like you and your wife have a great plan at such a young age. Every time I get ready to buy, the first thing I do is call my lender. I tell him the parameters of the purchase and he tells me what I will need in terms of paperwork, records and money in the bank. So that's what I recommend as a first step.