Should I buy a duplex or rent ?

[Alex Gonzalez]

In a pickle. I’ve been looking to move out for about a year now. My partner and I are considering renting vs buying. We are currently under contract on a duplex (2 separate home on 1 lot) here in CA. One home is currently being rented and the other we would live In. The homes are live

-able but need some updating. 1950/1980 around 800~ sqft per home. Cost to rent in the area is around 2k per month. Mortgage cost is around 2600 after deducting current rent. We would be out of pocket around 70k at closing and this does not include any updates on the homes. Hypothetically, we could refinance in the future and up the rent after some updates and break even on the mortgage if we moved out and rented both units out. Wondering if it would be a good idea to buy now or rent and wait for a better opportunity to come. Any words of advice?