Not finding good deals on duplexes- should I buy anyway?

[Irene Low]

I'm shopping the market for my first duplex to house-hack, it's my first time buying a property, period. I plan to use a FHA loan and put down somewhere from 6-8%. I'm finding it very difficult to find deals that will produce any positive income after I move out and both sides are rented out. The best deals I can find barely break even with the mortgage. I'm almost to the point where I'm feeling a little desperate and I'm debating if I should just buy a property anyway, simply betting on the fact that the property will appreciate over time when sold in several years, and not focus so much on the monthly cash flow I could receive if I found a good deal.

I'd like to hear your thoughts- Someone tell me why this is or isn't a valid way to evaluate/think about my first purchase.

My ultimate goal with real estate investing: buy more properties after this and achieve financial freedom.

My ultimate goal with my first purchase: get my foot in the door, make a little bit of money (I'd be ok with not making money, as long as I'm not losing money), see if I want to continue real estate investing, decide if this is the strategy I want to focus on (vs. BRRR, Airbnb, etc)