Building a Duplex vs. Purchasing

[Nick P.]

Hi All,

I'm brand new to real estate investing, but looking to hit the ground running. I would like my first property to be a house hack, preferably a duplex. Due to work restrictions (I am required to live near a city where we have an office) and mixed with personal preference, there are a couple of cities/areas that I am interested in purchasing. However, after much research, not many properties currently for sale make sense for me in these areas. There is however vacant land, zoned for multi-family, for sale at a reasonable purchase price. I'm curious if anyone has experience here and would advocate either for or against this. Would this be too large of a project for a first time investor? Any thoughts/commentary is greatly appreciated. 

Thanks in advance and looking forward to learning here!