Should I House Hack?

[Haley Graham]

Hello Again! Excuse the in-depth (with numbers) type of question, but I think that the best start for me is to house hack a duplex. That being said, I found one in a smaller town in Iowa, called Hudson. It is a beautiful little, safe town that seems to be growing just a bit. I found a duplex that's been on the market for about 2 months listed at 104K and dropping. It's 1440 sq ft, 2BD, 1BA each unit. The taxes are around 1680/year, and I'm going to guess insurance would be 30-40 a month (realtor.com estimate plus some). I know its septic sewer and it says rural water? I couldn't give good estimates for those yet, what they run, but just think small town. I'd be living in one side and using a VA loan so I'd put 0% down at 3.75 rate and VA fees (unsure of those yet either). Could I low-ball an offer and eventually make some good cash flow as soon as I can move out? I haven't been to see it yet (which I definitely will- don't worry), but it has some minor updates and there's a two stall garage. I'd be property manager for the year I am there, but I still will want to factor that into my return... Sound like a good deal or not?