First deal discussed, tell me what you think!

[Silvio L.]

Hello Everyone,
I am new to the world of Real Estate investing and I came to bigger pockets to get ideas and advice for my next deal. But before I post about that, I wanted to share with you all my first deal, which I am pretty proud of. I say this because I followed some of the 'golden rules" practiced but some on BIGGERPOCKETS and I think my plan was executed successfully. Quick background: I wanted to get into real estate investing but decided I would start with an FHA loan as I could live in the home and also take advantage of the 3.5% down payment. Here are the details:

Home is in a decent (not joking) area of Newark, NJ.

House: 2 unit duplex, each with 3 bedrooms, 1 bath, and standard amenities
purchased; 199k
down payment: 7k
closing costs: 7k
total cash outlay ~ 15k

I am currently occupying one unit and renting the other for 1200. I am moving out next month, and once I rent out this unit the numbers will look like this:

monthly rent: 2,400
expenses (taxes, insurance, maintenance, legal) - 1200
NOI: 1,200
monthly debt (30yr @ 3.75%) = 898
cash flow: 302/mo
yearly cash flow: 3,624
ROI = 24%

What does everyone think of my first deal? Also, I have a few questions:

1. What is the next step for the property, do I create an LLC and transfer the property to the LLC?

2. Any recommendations for my next deal? I have good credit, but not much cash. Plus, I don't want to go the conventional route and use up my cash reserves (20% down - no way). I want to continue my buy and hold model, but I would like to increase cash flow by purchasing a property at 60-70% ARV. I definitely have the manpower and resources to do a full rehab if needed, but no funding. Is there success in using a Hard Money loan for acquisition and then refinancing to a traditional loan after repairs? What do most investors do in terms of financing to acquire and fix properties for long term hold and cash flow?

Thanks so much everyone, not only for your help with this, but also for all the information I've gathered on this site in the past year. Cheers!!

-Silvio