Cash flow logic for owner occupied fourplex

[Shamim Toufighian]

I'm hoping to purchase fourplex in Los Angeles to owner occupy at some point in the near future and have some questions regarding the unit I'll be living in and what I would need to be putting in "rent" wise. Let's say the monthly mortgage payment is $5000 and the rent from the three other units cover that. Then let's say the unit I'm living in would rent out at $2500/month, would that then be considered as part of my cash flow, meaning I would have to put $2500/month into savings? Also, what if my monthly budget to go towards "rent" is only $2000, would it be unwise putting in only $2000 towards savings instead of what that unit is actually worth?

[Elizabeth Colegrove]

Honestly it depends on your goals. I am currently own 7 soon to be 9 single family homes. Our next purchase will be a quad plex that we will live in one unit and rent the rest. Personally I am examining it in two ways. The first way my total expenses minus my total cash rate with my downpayment. I have a cash on cash rate goals. So I would want the investment to meet my rate of return goals. 

From there it really is your preference on where the money goes. Every spare dime we saved when straight into our "investment account". This was what we used for the next houses.