And there is usually an “educational” course that they want to capture, that will cost you tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars, 10 students will beat any flip any day.

Does it make sense to leverage our duplex to scale into a bigger multifamily?

If you are going with a wholesaler you better have your ducks lined up either cash or a hard money loan in place I have cash but I want to leverage my money through traditional financing not through hard money.

I would recommend never paying 100% upfront since you have no recourse or leverage in case things aren’t done as expected.

Goal is to leverage my appreciating low cap rate market for a high COC/GRM market.

I am trying to receive all of the education I can to gain the courage to make the next steps. 

So here it goes:1) Single with no wife or children: House hack with an FHA loan, lower down payment which lets you be able to use the other cash left to leverage for another property. 2) Single but engaged or Married with no children: House hack again with an FHA loan, but move out once the 1 year stay requirement is over, and rent the other unit out.

Thank you all for the education. 

I will continue leveraging myself to a point where I feel most comfortable.

In this fashion, you leverage the equity in your primary residence to acquire a nice little rental portfolio.This is all just my perspective.