Househacking in Dallas Proper

[Haley Powell]

I will be moving to Dallas around May or June so I am trying to familiarize myself with the market there and scope out good areas suitable to househacking. I am trying to avoid getting too far out from the core or into the suburbs as I'll be working in downtown Dallas proper and I've heard commutes can have some brutal traffic. I would preferably be able to eventually buy a place so I can househack and eventually leverage my savings into buying more properties. However, from what I've seen on Zillow (not the best source, I'm sure) most of the more affordable places are farther out or are in South Dallas and need quite a bit of rehab. Considering that this is my first property and I don't have the resources or connections in place to rehab yet, I'd like to find something that doesn't need a huge amount of renovation.

Does anyone have any suggestions on where to look in Dallas proper for a first time househack? 

Any advice on property type would be helpful as well, I've seen a fair amount of condos and I'm unsure of how their value holds up over time and duplexes seem to be fairly rare. 

Just to clarify my own monetary situation a bit more: I am a grad student currently and I will graduate in May. I interned in Dallas through summer and fall and rented in the Oak Lawn area. I will be making about $50,000 at my new job so my budget is limited.