The reviews I read on this platform saved me thousands.

New to the site and have about 30K saved up with no debt.

Those properties are still cheaper than Los Angeles multifamily properties and their cap rates are usually much better.I can save anyone interested in Austin tx the trouble.

I'd recommend reading through The Ultimate Beginner's Guide if you're looking for a solid overview of REI.

It makes no sense not to get one to save a few hundred dollars when you are about to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Knowing that it needs a lot of work I want to be able to save as much off the rent for large investments into the house as needed.What do you all think?  

As you start acquiring additional properties keep the 100K in a savings account until you've used up the proceeds from the two condo refi.   100k in CASH looks great to underwriters.You should only be putting down 20% on these new acquisitions.  

My goal is to get a duplex, triplex, etc. so I can start saving more money and live rent free, and in turn invest more! 

I just tell them it saves both of us time.

We financed this home at 80% LTV through a local bank (here is where I would have saved my capital and gone with FHA or another low money down strategy had I had the foresight, but alas, "it is what it is" as they say).My plan is to eventually use 1031 to trade up to 8+ unit buildings, then parlay that into either apartments, mixed use, or commercial down the line.Going forward: House hacking the duplex is clearly not the ideal situation with a toddler and a newborn.