In Texas we try to wait for a hail claim, but roofs don't last forever.

Had I not been familiar with the job, I might have felt taken for a ride, but I knew the mechanic was right, and it would have taken me 2 days to do that job myself.

The huge government and university job base helps prevent the slides down while the tech, medical, and other industries provide the ride up.  

That policy rides on top of your individual policy limits.As far as what company is the cheapest, nobody can answer that because no national carrier is the cheapest in every market.

If you do a good job on fixing it up and find good renters you can ride it out.

For as long as you make your mortgage payments, you can ride the ups and downs of the market.Download a mortgage calculator, look up property tax records where you plan to buy, and start shopping for insurance.

I am closing in on 2 years so I will have the freedom to look for another larger live in flip if I choose or to ride it out for longer.  

@Hai Le don't have an answer for you but will  this upgrade the unit so you can charge more?

The price has come down almost $200,000 dollars and it's in the neighborhood we've been wanting to raise our family, but... we'd only be able to pull in $1250 - $1500 in rent from the other unit at this location, and it would put us into even more debt.Looking for other investors thoughts on whether or not to jump at this to ride out possible inflation, or to wait and hope for a market downturn.Current Situation:Duplexmtg + tax + ins = -$1300rent = $900net = -$400Possible New Situation:Duplex (w/refinance)mtg + tax + ins = -$1900rent = $2400Housemtg + tax + ins = -$2580rent = $1250net = -$830Thanks in advance for any input you can give.

Someone with better connections than you will likely take you for a ride--push you out of the company and steal it from you, if it's worth stealing.