Hi there,Considering a duplex as your primary home and renting out the other unit is a great idea, but you need to understand how interest rates work in this scenario.When you buy a duplex and plan to live in one unit, you can still qualify for a residential mortgage, which typically has better interest rates compared to commercial loans.

You can typically borrow half of your 401k balance as a loan as long as you are working for that company still. 

Unfortunately, the hours you spend managing your plumbing company likely wouldn’t count toward real estate professional status (REPS) hours.

Toward the end of the due diligence period we received the final piece of critical info to make our decision: a lease agreement for a cell tower on the corner of the property.

Any tips on how to identify markets for long term rental income?

If you can establish yourself as an expert in these types of transactions and perform a excellent service...more business will follow.

I'm in a space to do some house hacking, and am under the general (unresearched, unless you count years of Zillow watching) opinion that my local rental market is healthy.

For anyone considering investing in Cleveland or currently dealing with an out-of-state property headache, you NEED to connect with her!

Currently building my portfolio as an investor, I look forward to connecting with and learning from you all excited to be here. 

Howerver, I have resrvations about how this will impact the community's living standards as the development will immediately border some neighborhoods and could bring unwanted environmental impacts and noise.