Purchasing First House Hack and Compromise

[Nick McGregor]

Hi everyone, first post here!

I've been listening to the podcast for several years but have never felt like it was the right time to make a purchase. I'm now ready to make a purchase and I feel like I'm having to make some large compromises due to low inventory and high demand in my market. 

What I want:

• Side-by-side duplex with a garage in one of my preferred neighborhoods

What I keep finding:

• Single family homes with garages that break even or lose money when I move out after a year and begin to rent
• OR 
• Multifamily homes with no garage, no cash flow, or not in neighborhoods I want to live in 

Should I continue to wait til inventory is a bit better or should I compromise to go ahead and get into the market to start putting some money into equity? My goal is to purchase low effort rentals every 1-2 years until I cash flow ~5k a month. 

I feel like I'm not being creative enough, but when I do get creative on what I could do with a property, it turns into a higher effort endeavor.