Buying a duplex as a first home. Pros/cons.

[Nicholas Papineau]

My wife and I want to purchase and live in a duplex for 2-4 years. Half would be rented while we would occupy the other half. Does anyone have any negative experiences with living that closely to tenants?

[Paul De Luca]

@Steven Chraca

It is very difficult to break even let alone cash flow while you are house hacking a duplex. You're mostly just mitigating your PITI payment, and having a partner split the payment with you makes it even better. Triplexes give you much better odds of cashflowing while house hacking, but the numbers make the most sense with a 4 flat obviously since you have greater economies of scale.

If you were to use an FHA loan for example, the property needs to pass the Self Sufficiency Test. It is only required for 3-4 unit properties, but often times it's hard to pass with a triplex but easy to pass with a fourplex.