You can perhaps add the business as a cosigner if needed, but ultimately you want the family on the lease because they are living there and if the employee gets fired, they are the ones responsible for rent. it is irrelevant to you who the rent comes from. if it was a company renting so they can put up different contractors they have to fly in and different people will be living there at different times, that would be a different setup.

Wondering what the best solution might be..Prop 1:  Bought 2011, FHA 3.5% w/ PMI; MV ~185k; Loan Bal 92k; HELOC 36k @ 5% floating off Prime (drawn to pay for down pmt on other property); Rental (performing)Prop 2: Bought 2014, FNCL 3.875% w/ PMI; MV ~ 260k; Loan Bal 173k; Rental (performing)Prop 3: Bought 2018, FNCL 4.625% w/ PMI; MV ~440k; Loan Bal 356k; Owner Occ / Primary - Saving the detail, to get the deal I had to put up more down payment than I would have liked to... 

PITI: $1,200.5% Down Payment of $163,000 Purchase Price.Property Appraised for $190,000 right out the gate.Originally paid Gas/Water for both units and electric for 1 side, but am in process of switching electric over to new tenant, which should save $140-160/mo. 

@Nick CausaThe key principal of a self-directed IRA or 401(k) is a means to diversify your tax-sheltered retirement savings. 

I also set savings goals to help fund my first deal and when I will be taking action on that deal. 

I found that , yes, I saved on taxes, but that maybe without the time pressure of those 45 days, I could have sat back and maybe found an awesome deal (instead of just a good one) , that would have ultimately created more profit for me than what I have saved on taxes. 

You 'can' make it work with condos, ... ultimately, it has to make sense for YOU and your needs and how you want your life to be.

Creating a savings plan and budget for the purchase of a duplex, from my understanding the following expenses typically include what I have below,what else am I missing ?

@Patrick Britton I've considered it but ultimately I don't know how much time I will spend in Bellingham.

. ~$200 saved me $10k.. no brainer.