I don’t plan Use excel enough to justify the hrs it requires to learn if I don’t need to, but I will if that’s my only option. 

@Tyler Howie I concur with @David Marshall, I keep looking south of Lewiston and just can't justify buying down there when I can get a better return on my money up here.

Just takes a couple comps, and the contract justifies the value.

Spoiler alert - it's going to be hard to justify keeping the existing property based on the tax implications if you had a lot of appreciation. 

Yep you can still utilize an FHA loan. there are some guidelines and the lender will ask why you are moving from a Single family to a multi family for instance, but with the proper explanation you usually can justify it. 

Thanks for the advice and taking the time @Bill Brandt  I think the idea is we would rent out that house for the following 3 years as well, which would justify things more. 

Austin is always a hot market, but idk it seems like maybe a missed the party on that, it’s very expensive there now and I make the least amount of money there so it’s harder to justify.

Most duplexes that aren't in need of major cosmetic and functional repair are creeping towards the 400-500k mark and I'm not sure the rents justify that price point.Ideally I would like to have rental property as part of my portfolio as diversification and of course the cash flow is great too.

I justify it by thinking I do it in exchange for what would cost probably $600/month in PM fees but I know that deep down, my time could be spent better elsewhere.  

Do you really have enough assets to justify it?