I found the insurance by Googling "average homeowners insurance cost in MN", and got $112, so I multiplied it by 2 because it's a duplex.

Now multiply that advantage by 919...Clearly there's a line between doing this as a profession and doing it as a hobby/part-time.

Second, I will talk about selecting good comps.Suppose you are considering the following property.You find two recent comparable sales, which are listed below.The process is to determine the average $/SF of the comps and multiply that times the subject property’s SF. (238/SF + 235/SF) / 2 = 236.5/SF. 236.5/SF x 1847SF = $436,815.

You may do a per square foot price with the single homes around, then multiply the sq. ft. of the duplex, then adding 10-15% buffer to the final value.

Most issues you have with 2/4 - multiply that by 4/2.

I wish I would have learned earlier that everything you invest in needs to be about cash flow and multiplying your money.

And also headaches multiply as you portfolio grows, so when you make that decision, do it with more than one property in mind.

Take the same $10k you invested here and multiply it by 10 to equal that $100k starting point. 

Once you have a few rentals and this is multiplied by 4-5 and now it cuts your borrowing power by almost $200K you will wish you had the 30 year and cash flow.As long as the numbers work. 

If I use my 1br / 1ba numbers and just multiply that times the number of bedrooms a unit has, that adds up to a lot of $ fast and I'm worried that I'm overestimating utilities using that method.