Seeking advice for first real estate investment

[Jude Cineas]

Hello everyone, it's Jude.

I making this post because I want feedback from the BP community on a decision I am thinking about making. Approximately a year from now my spouse and I are looking into purchasing a duplex and housing hacking it using the FHA. we plan on using the extra funds to save and invest in another rental property the following year.

Do you guys have any advice to give on navigating a duplex as a first real estate investment? What should I focus on now to set myself up? Pros and Cons ? 

Anything will help. 

thanks! 

[Joel Allen]

@Jude Cineas

It’s good that you’re thinking and planning ahead.  A couple things you can be doing now:

1.  Develop a relationship with an investor-friendly real estate agent and start narrowing down the particular area(s) of the city you want to focus your search on.

2.  Start working with a recommended lender so you can get a sense of what you may qualify for.  You can have the lender pull your credit (or you can see your own credit report at annualcreditreport.com) to determine if there are ways to improve your credit score within the next year.

3.  Many investors prefer side-to-side duplexes (vs. top-bottom duplexes) to minimize problems with noise, etc.