Austin, Tx Buy vs. Rent: Duplex or House w/ Mother in Law Suite

[Logan J.]

Currently living in San Antonio, Texas roughly ~90 miles south of Austin, Texas and I'm considering making a move! I'm considering going heavy and buying above the average/ median home price and going with a Duplex or SFH (3 Bed /2 Bath) + 'Mother in Law Suite'. That being said, how realistic is it to significantly offset my cost of living or even reasonably find one of these properties? I don't expect to be completely cash positive but I do want to considerably lower my cost of living in a city where the cost of living somehow mimics cities on the one west coast. 

Question: Are there any Bigger Pockets members out there doing something similar? What was the cost of the property and do you live-in? Given the market is hot, is it reasonable to think a buyer will accept an offer with only 5% down? Most of my research has been done using Zillow and I estimate the minimum I'd be able to find a property that's is semi-move-in ready to be 600K+. Is this assumption wrong? 

[Joshua Noth]

@Logan J. If you rent out the other side of the duplex / the other rooms in your SFH, you will offset your cost of living to an extent; any extra income from the property helps. Will it be significant? Tough to predict with certainty. This can vary on tons of things, notably on the size of your loan which can be heavily influenced by how much you might offer over asking price. The competition levels and price ranges will also vary from area to area: the northern suburbs are incredibly competitive and require much more incentives in the offer itself (cash offers, appraisal waivers, etc.). But then again, most of Austin has that to an extent.

To answer your question about the 5% down: maybe, but that's an uphill battle.  It's tough to compete with someone who's willing to buy that property 70-100k overasking and all in cash.  I'd be happy to connect and chat more if you'd like