Ideally you should underwrite several scenarios and see what would work best in your case.

He must have a severe allergy to cats if it's affecting him from another unit.

I went up to look at the property and one of the doors had gunshot holes in it.After I finished inspecting the property I went back down to the street and was immediately approached by several people asking for money and cigarettes, there were plenty of females using Walmart carts as strollers for their babies, and finally when I went back into my car someone came up to me asking what I was doing there, I replied "I'm looking to buy a home here" to which he replied "Really?!

Adding in the rent from the other side, the property would still be pretty negative on cash flow (largely due to the FHA loan w/ minimum down, I know).MAYBE I could bring the rent up over the next 3 years to where there is positive cashflow; MAYBE appreciation will be such that I could sell at a gain in several years. 

.- Section 105 plan: Make yours and your family health expenses 100% deductible.- Augusta Loophole: An S corporation owner can rent his or her entire home to the S corporation for up to 14 days per year and get big tax deductions.

I know that I will only occupy a unit for a limited time, and the house-hack is just a way to get more favorable rates, better loan terms, and elminate, or severely decrease my housing costs today.I am sure there is someone on BP who has built some wild spreadsheet, or other model where you can actually calculate the value of no mortgage, but for me, as long as I am covering most, or all of my PITI while I am occupying a unit, and the deal works as a stand-alone investment deal, then I am done running numbers. 

Chang,No experience with it myself....but I have read up on it several times and yes it is a real possibility....I was researching as we do new condos and conversions on the Civil and land use planning side of things, and I wondered "what is the redevelopment potential for a small existing condo building in an undervalued location?"

There also seem to be several property management companies that service these areas and the companies have stellar reviews.

Like everything in life parctice makes perfect and the key is to flip several similar homes a year, this way you get good at what you do, have working relationships with all the contractors you need etc.

I’ve came across several but they seem to be connect to a particular agency or are somewhat biased listings.Thanks in advance.Edison