Apt. Renting or Duplex/Condo Owning? Here's my situation

[Carlos Zappatos]

Hello everyone, first post here. This is comething I have been thinking about for a few years now, and I would really appreciate some feedback and advice.

A little about myself and my financial situation: I am a 32 year old single male with a steady job. I make salary (68K/yr.) + Commission, which usually is gross 92-112K/yr. I have about 70K saved in the bank (excluding retirement). I have no debt and great credit.

I live in Louisiana and have rented for the past few years. My rent is $785/m and I live below my means. I enjoy saving money and have no problem continuing to live below my means, however home ownership is something I have wanted for awhile now. 

One thing that allures me just as much as owning my own home or property is real estate investing in general. Because of this, I have been strongly considering seeking out a duplex with the intent to purchase and rent one side out to a tenant. This appeals to me for the following reasons:

1. It allows me to invest in real estate and OWN my home, instead of renting.

2. It allows me to be a landlord, which I have always been interested in. My plan would be to live in one side and [hopefully] have a tenant rent the other side and cover my mortgage, and if/when I move out one day (presumably 5+ years), I will rent the other unit out as well. Thus I am not going into this with the idea of purchasing a duplex (or condo - see below) and selling it at a profit at any point in the near future (under five years). I look at any capital appreciation as a bonus, and plan to BUY and HOLD as long as I can (assuming the value doesn't appreciate to the point that it makes more sense to sell under certain circumstances; again, this cap. appreciation would be a bonus to me as being a landlord is something I do not mind doing).

I have also strongly considered purchasing a condo, which is ideal for me if I cannot find a duplex at a reasonable price and in an area that I want to live in/rent out. I know condo's are hard to sell, however I hope that since I plan to rent it out at some point this mitigates my risk. Is my rationale sound? At which point is it better to continue renting?

At this time in my life, since I have no wife/kids, I am not interested in purchasing a house. I feel the maintenance of owning a house plus the size of it relative to the cost just isn't for me at this time. In 5+ years, maybe. For me, a duplex is preferred with a condo being a close second. I am hoping you can take my financial situation into consideration and help advise when it may not be ideal to purchase a duplex or condo, when it would be ideal to rent instead, and anything else that may help this decision of mine. Ultimately my question is rent or own, in my particular situation. Why or why not? I want to make sure I have covered all my bases before I move onto the next step in my real estate search.

I am happy to be here and look forward to speaking with you all! Thank you!