House hacking a property with very low cash flow after leaving

[Nick Morgan]

I like the neighborhood I live in, and dislike renting. Owner/occupying ("house hacking") a duplex seemed appealing, until I started doing the math:

• $400,000 mortgage
• $1,500 rent per unit
• $1,370 mortgage payment (with a 20% down payment)
• $1500 in all other expenses - excluding a property manager (insurance, taxes, utilities, 5% vacancy, 1% maintenance budget, 1% reserves budget)

Owner/occupying seems to work out nicely - the other unit pays for the mortgage, and I budget roughly $1,500 in expenses - which is a little below what I currently pay in rent. I also will build equity in the property, and I have some utility in owning vs renting.

Moving out is where things seem to fall apart - if the estimates above are correct, my cash flow would only be $65 per unit. This seems to be far below the rules of thumb I see posted on here.

Am I looking at this the right way? I do want to own a house & stop renting, but the low cash flow seems concerning, and I don't want to rely on appreciation to save me.