I am purchasing a Duplex 5bd/2bth each side, and planned to house hack one side and rent out the rooms. 1.

This is a single family home and was originally a primary residence before turning it into an long-term rental.Some strategies I'm considering to grow my portfolio are using a HELOC/1039 tax exchange to purchase a second investment property/multi-family property or refinancing my current investment property into a conventional loan to utilize another FHA loan for a primary residence (with the idea of eventually turning that into another long-term rental).I currently have a 7% interest rate, and am considering refinancing in the coming months if/when the rates drop.

Purchase price: $194,025The Sellers foreclosed mid-transaction and even had to lawyer up to get their lender to look at the Short Sale package.

This is the best resource to start looking for an agent and your questions here would be great interview questions to determine who might be the best fit for you! 

Determine what it would sell for on a comp-based approach as a 4 unit (they don't sell based on cap rates) and determine what it would sell for as a Cap rate 5 unit.

Hi Callie,Congrats on purchasing your second home and transitioning your primary into a rental!

Purchased a duplex with two great tenants.

Our target purchase is a single unit in a townhome complex.

You are already ahead of the curve because most rely on number of doors and cash flow as their primary purchasing criteria which leads them straight to the C/D neighborhoods. 

After long consideration, I have finally decided to purchase an investment property.