1st time buyer: Rental or Personal property

[Devonte Perdue]

I'm a beginner investor that is pre-qualified for a conventional loan. I've been wanting to get a duplex for some time now but keep getting out bid by other investors here in Ohio. Starting to think I should just focus on getting my own personal home, build equity and maybe later take out a cash out option for a rental later. Anybody else had/have this same delima staring off? Dont know which property to get first. I want passive income but also want to get out of an apartment. HELP!!

[Brian Adzadi]

@Devonte Perdue

LOL. You sound like me when I was starting my real estate investor journey. The difference between you and me is, I was married with kids, so house hacking was not happening at all. My wife was ok with getting a property, as long as the tenant did not live above, below or to the side of us.

When we did start looking, we initially wanted a multifamily for the obvious security in knowing if one tenant does not pay, there is still another to cover the mortgage. However, the multifamily in my area is very competitive, I was getting outbid left and right. I thought I would never find anything.

That's when my wife suggest we switch to single family rental. Just with that small change, we were able to find a house, close on it and rent it out within a month.

So trust me, its just the name of the game. You can still win in real estate, you may just have to switch up your play. I am pretty sure you can find a primary residence and a single family rental at the same time or within one year of each other.