Single Family V Duplex for first time investor

[Chris Lawlor]

Hi Folks, 

Hope the weekend is going swimmingly for you all. I'd appreciate some of your sage advice on which way to go for our first property. 

We are currently looking for a duplex to house hack in the NY Capital Region, but given the extreme shortage of stock we're considering revising our search to include single family property too. We would live in it for the first year or so and then rent it out. 

I'm just a bit concerned about the margins in SF property. With just one unit, the pro's are, you would hope to get a good family in that will stay for a number or years, but the con's are, hitting the 1% rule seems to be difficult in the Capital Region. A lot of markets seem to be topped out and it's hard to see property prices increasing significantly above what we're at in many of the neighbourhoods that our budget fits at the moment. 

I realise that there's no exact science to this, but I wonder if anyone is or has been in a similar situation. What strategy did you take? 

Thanks folks. 

[Amanda Gisonni Kittredge]

I am located south of the capital region in the mid-Hudson Valley area and there are not a lot of duplexes in my area. I opted for a SF to house hack because the numbers worked better with and without me living here. If you opt for a SF you definitely need to really think about whether or not you can live with others and rent by the room. It is not easy living with roommates and carefully vetting them will be extremely important. You could also rent out the rooms on a short term basis to nurses through furnished finder or on airbnb. We are planning to stay in our home for more than two years and are renovating our basement to turn it into a studio apartment. This will enable us to no longer have roommates upstairs and have more of a duplex feel. If you can find a duplex great, if not you are only planning to live there for a short period of time. Most importantly make sure your numbers work with and without you living there! 

Amanda Gisonni, Licensed Real Estate Agent in NY (10401335254)