You really need to balance the opportunity cost of the interest you'll save with the returns you can make by investing that $400/month or however much you can scrape together.If you want to get real nerdy, you can download a loan amortization spreadsheet, plug in the extra payments, compare the interest saved each month versus what it'd be if you keep the loan as is, and discount the NPV into today's dollars. 

My goal is to house hack in a duplex, however, in Atlanta I am having a difficult time finding an available duplex in my price range.

As a fellow NYer I have found it pretty difficult to make the numbers work near me though they may be better by you.

Like @Peter M. said, unless you are a builder that can do it at cost it would be difficult to see how this would be profitable.

Hi Leo,Those on your list are all renovation components that are very difficult for non-professional contractors/engineers to inspect and estimate. 

If there is no deposit and he has SSN, forwarding address, etc, next best option is to send the balance to collections if the tenant's won't pay directly for the damage.

Is it difficult to find financing for these types of projects?

However, I LOVE the paperwork and reporting, balancing checkbooks, creating documents, etc. and want to keep that part.

Hey @Jordan Lynam ,In an Absent Owner situation, most investors aim to collect $1,000 of rents per $100,000 of property they buy.Since you are wanting to cashflow while living in one unit, you have to raise your rent requirements to roughly $2,000/month per unit per $100,000Those kinds of rents are incredibly difficult to find, in a neighborhood that you want to live in.

Depending on your attitude and your level of faith and honesty that also can be difficult because at least half the time you spend with sellers you have to be a little dishonest with the seller with your actual intention of what you are really up to.