Question about increasing rent & refinancing a duplex

[Greg Larson]

Hey BP,

I'm considering pulling the trigger on a duplex in my area that's currently renting for $700/side. I believe it can rent for $1100/side and my agent thinks it could go for up to $1300/side.

If I paid $280k for it and then took the rents from $700/side to $1200/side, then refinanced it, do you think it would raise the property value all that much?

The cash flow at $1200/mo would be good, but I'm trying to see if there's a bigger play here where I could refi and leverage this duplex into a 5+ unit deal after just one year

(My loan for this property would be an FHA with 3.5% down)

Thanks in advance for your advice!