Would you buy a house hack that cash flows, but has no equity?

[Shaun R.]

After I get my first rental property closed I'm going to look into refinancing out of the FHA mortgage on my personal residence into conventional, and possibly pulling a little cash out (and keep it as a rental). There are not a ton of small multi-family properties in my area, but I one popped up on the MLS yesterday that got my attention.

The property has 2 duplexes on one lot. Each is 2/1 and about 900sf. I have a good gauge of what SFH's are worth in my area, but no idea about multi's since there aren't that many around here. So, assuming that this thing is listed for what it's worth, and each unit will rent for $800-$900 (I'll say 800 for this exercise), is it worth buying and living in one of the units? The calculator tells me that with an FHA mortgage and 3.5% down my monthly payment would be around $1400 per month. Rents would be $2400 plus I'd get to live in it for free until we were ready to move.

I realize this is probably not the blockbuster deal that a lot of you may be looking for.  But it is worth buying for someone who is just getting started as a house hack?