What's your opinion on this not-quite-hypothetical deal?

[Collin Garbarino]

I have a not-quite-hypothetical situation that I'd like everyone's opinion on. The scenario is real, but I'm going to simplify it a bit.

Imagine that the house on one side of your current residence comes available. The owner agrees to sell it for $15K when it's worth $160K–170K.

Imagine that the house on the other side of your current residence comes available at the same time. That owner is looking for $150K–160K, and it is also worth $160K–170K.

Both houses would rent for about $1500 a month.

Of course you buy the first house. That's a no-brainer.

But what about the second house? It probably won't cashflow for the first few years, but the first house would float it. If you bought it, you'd own three 3BR/2BA in a row in a neighborhood that you expect to steadily appreciate.

So what do you do? Do you buy one house or two?