Am I overall lowering my expenses if I buy a two-flat and rent out one unit?   

@Tove Fox hope you find this copy & paste useful:)-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Recommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?

I hope you end up buying here.

Then bought my own deal the following year 37.7k sq ft warehouse on 4 acres in Plano.Been buying industrial for last 6 years.I think your plan is right, I'm a big proponent of joint venturing on commercial deals.

The other day I started the thread Why do people Buy Property in California? 

If you want an ADU, buy a property with an adu.  

The Creative Investor Meetup is designed for beginning to advanced investors who would like additional strategies when constructing deals.All aspects of real estate investing will be covered including (but not limited to) - Wholesaling, Flipping, Buy and Hold and Commercial with an emphasis on Creative Financing.

Investment Info:Condo buy & hold investment in Ashburn.

I would never buy a home in a flood plain. 

Not sure about MTRs.My general conclusion was that it is tough to do business in the town if your goal is to buy property as pure rentals out the gates and no intention to occupy.