First Duplex, $200k, $2k/mo

[Terry Burwell]

My wife and I are looking to house hack by owner occupying a duplex or doing a live-in flip. 

My agent sent me a duplex to look at today.

$200,000 purchase price

2/1 upstairs 3/1 downstairs 

Leased till Nov & Dec 2018

Rent of $1,950/mo

Out of state owner

The Zestimate is $234,000 and I'm confident rents could be $2,500/month. 

My questions to the agent were:

-are the units metered separately for utilities?

-can I see the rent roll for 2017, including operating expenses?

-may I view the current leases?

-was a background and/or credit check done on the current tenants and may I see it?

-is there any preventative and/or deferred maintenance I need to be aware of (i.e.; HVAC, water heater, roof, flooring)

The owner requires a letter of intent to buy before it can be showed. There are very few multifamily properties that come to market here and even fewer that have 3 bedrooms. While our plan was to live in it, we would rather keep it rented to offset where we already live (which is a nicer property in a nicer neighborhood) and keep looking for that live-in flip property. 

When the current leases expire, we could raise rents to $1,500 and $1,000 (or more) depending on the market. 

Our market is ridiculous right now and the pool of renters is huge. 

Does this sound like a good deal? Are there any other questions I should ask of the realtor?

Thanks!

Terry