Renting an apartment Versus buying a duplex

[Stefon Pegram]

Hello good morning Bigger Pockets community, I am a 21-year-old that is working full-time at minimum-wage. Also, I am a college student paying down my last 2,000 worth of debt from school. Currently I live with my parents and I want to make a Financially smart plan to move out after graduation in a few months.I was wondering which is a smarter decision for my situation. Please feel free to throw in your personal advice and experiences. Thank you all

[Jaysen Medhurst]

Good on you for getting started early. If at all possible, @Stefon Pegram, see if you can do a 3- or 4-unit property. Duplexes are kind of the worst of both worlds, relatively high per-unit cost, the extra expenses of MFR properties, but not enough units to really get efficiencies of scale.

You're biggest challenge is going to be finding something that can cash flow. Your area is very expensive, which is tough enough, but the taxes are BONKERS. That doesn't mean you can't house hack effectively, but it's very unlikely that an small MFR in your area will be able to stand on its own after you move out.