I think @Clint Moore is right about the predatory lending rules being tough once you get into lower loan values.I've never tried, but I guess technically you could try to hope for a good appraisal and take out a larger loan... could be a gamble though.Could you do a HELOC on your primary residence and use that to buy the duplex?

I don't like gambling, I only like to make bets I can win.

Oh, one last thing: there's a tribal gaming casino planned to be built in the southmost-central portion of the city which people take as a great benefit or the end of the world, depending on how you feel about gambling and/or money. :)

If you're gambling on huge future appreciation, flyover country is not the place to be.

Someone tell Rich to stop gambling and to come educate the common-folk!

I like gambling analogies for real estate because, despite all the mumbo jumbo that sometimes gets thrown around, luck is a huge factor in your actual returns.

So, that's about my minimum for buying a rental.OTOH, I don't want to be dealing with a tenant for just $10 a month, even if that is getting me a 20% cash on cash return.As to your question, the number your asking about, in gambling terms, is called "variance".

. $5k for a 4,000s.f. house.3) Where my risk/gamble is, is that I like changing use of properties... converting bootlegged 2 units back into SFR.

I took the gamble in 2011, because I knew prices were at multi-year lows.  

This sounds like it is gambling or drug related.