Vernon,
from my personal experience, in any type of investment it comes down to the bottom dollar. I don't think it is wise to rent while "investing" because it looks like its defeating the purpose. For instance if your personal rent is $500, your mortgage is $1200 and your rent in the investment property is $2000 then you should work the numbers backwards. 2000-1200-500= it only leaves you $300. Now, if you live in the you can save that added "rent" cost. So from this scenerio it appears that renting the rooms would the best way to maximize your investment. (I hope I am making sense so far).
You should really study what type of real estate investment you want to do so it can better assist in making a decision that suits you. Some people (like me) prefer to keep personal and business separate. Also, an idea that might work for your is buying a duplex where you can live on side and rent the other. That's how i got started.
Just a thought ... I hope that helps.
