First Purchase in Charlotte, NC (live-in?)

[Anthony McDougle]

Hey! Been a lurker for a while and I introduced myself in the Introductions forum earlier today. I'm wondering if anyone who knows the Charlotte area might have some advice for my situation --

I'm a recent college grad and I'm currently looking for somewhere to live. I figured a while back that, since I eventually want to own some rental units, instead of renting myself, I'd buy a property, live in it for a year or two, and rent it out later. Makes the most financial sense, right? Then, I found this site and read one of the posts that mentioned buying a duplex, living in one unit and renting out the other, and that seems to be even better, doesn't it?

I currently have about $10k for a down payment, but I think I could bump that up to $20k by mid-spring. I see a few duplexes available, but they all seem to be in very low-end neighborhoods full of crime -- not somewhere I'd want to live. Even when I do find something that might be liveable, it is already occupied, and I wouldn't feel very comfortable kicking out tenants just because I want to live there -- especially if they've been there for many years. Are there just not any decent duplexes in Charlotte? Am I looking in the wrong place? I've been searching online using listing sites like Zillow, Realtor.com, etc. Is there a better way? Should I just use a different strategy?

Thanks!