Do I buy a 2 family or single

[Carlos Aaron Vargas]

Hi, my name is Carlos Vargas. My fiance and I are looking to move out of our parents home before our September wedding. We are looking at two potential deals. One being a two family home with 1 bed 1 bath units with an asking price of 179k. Both units are currently being rented. One tenant is moving by the end of the summer and the other plans on staying.  The other is a 4 bedroom 1.5 bath single family in the nicer area of the city listed at 209k. The issue with this home is it has been winterized for 3 years and copper pipes have been cut (rumored to be the result of a messy divorce). We looked through the home it looks to have solid bones, could use a new kitchen for sure. Similar homes in the area go for 280k+ in move in condition. We are new to bigger pockets and learning about real estate investing. Even if we do not do either home we are not sure if it would be better to do a live and flip or go with a multi family home. Thank you for your time.

[Zach Scheer]

I would house hack, if I could convince my wife :). If you buy the single family house you pay for your mortgage, utilities, repairs and taxes by yourself. When you have the duplex the rent from your tenant should hopefully cover the mortgage or close to it. This leaves you with only utilities (if you don't make them pay their own), repairs, taxes and insurance.

You should have more money in your pocket every month if you do it right with the duplex. Being a landlord scares a lot of newbies but it's not as bad as people say. Plus you already found the best site to ask questions or advice.