House-Hacking with a refi in two years

[Joel Harrison]

Here are the basics... I found an incredible opportunity for a duplex in an amazing location. However, I don’t have 20% to put down on the place with the math being worked out as a full-on rental property. I can’t make any real positive Cashflow on this property unless I can put 20% down. However, I CAN come out about even. Does it make sense to lock in the property (buy it), house hack it for two years, then refi? Unless something goes absolutely wrong in the market (Nashville), I should have some instant equity, and have even more when I refi, right? I don’t want to lose the opportunity to own in this area, but I also don’t want to sink myself with a bad investment. The hardest part about this is that there are hardly any duplexes that come up in the Nashville market, even fewer at a good deal, and house-hacking seems to fit me best. Would it be smarter/better to just suck it up, let this one pass, and continue to save until I have the 20% to put down on a future opportunity? Should I use what I DO have saved up into a flip to get that higher 20% faster? My agent is pushing me a little to go ahead with this one, as she sees the opportunity that it holds as well.