When you live in that duplex for 2 years and then sell you'll be able to take 50% of the profit tax free (the allocation for the side you lived in). 

Tax benefits should be considered but not be the sole factor.The 'main benefit' from a tax perspective should be to generate a high return from your real estate investments and not to pay taxes on the return that you get.If you are able to reduce your taxable income, that should be icing on the cake.

When you invest in 1-4 units residential property in the Bay Area, you are investing for the appreciation or value-add potential because most properties don't generate positive cashflow.  

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, Donald Trump’s luxury hotels and skyscrapers, and Oprah Winfrey’s Montecito estate, "The Promised Land," all reinforce the undeniable power of real estate in building generational wealth.My journey into real estate was far from conventional.

My original plan was to find a 4 plex in california buy using fha loan, move out after the first year and generate cash flow and appreciation, but after looking at properties it became clear to me that’s not possible with todays market and interest rates.

Its pretty awesome (BTW, I am not affiliated with FUB, just a passionate users)You can capture all the homeowner demographics along with associated relationships and information - pictures, files, emails, notes, calls, text, etc.You can have a team number(s) at no addition costs (we use it to lead generate for different states and can be configured to round-robin. 

Jay thanks for the tip, it helped in searching and learning about "lead generators" in the fine print in lending and what means.

I bring to the table my full expertise in project management, construction, and deal sourcing, along with the knowledge I’ve gained working tirelessly in this industry over the past 3 years.My vision is to dedicate the next 10-15 years to real estate development, growing projects that generate significant returns while delivering exceptional results.If you’re interested in learning more, I’d love to discuss how we can collaborate.

So the idea of doing this all from afar is a bit daunting, however, I know the most important thing here will be to create a great team and outsource as much as possible.I have set my sights on a couple of different markets being in the Southeast and the Midwest; these markets seem to provide the cash flow I am initially interested in generating to value add to the properties I purchase.

Less than $300K in a mortgage, generating $4,000/month in rent.