Hey BP family,I am new to real estate investing but would love some experts insights so I don't get burned on my first dealThis is the property: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/724-N-22nd-Ave-Bozeman-MT...My thoughts are my wife, 8 month old and I could live in Unit A for a year or two while we rent out Units B & C to help cover the mortgage payments until we build/buy a more desirable family ranch home with min 10+ acres which we've been looking for but have yet to find.My hesitation is I've never been a landlord and am reluctant to get in over my head with property problems while simultaneously growing an online business and being a new father.After some negotiation we counter offered 895k with a 2-1 rate buy down for 20k and the sellers have verbally accepted but since our offer expired we need to resubmit.

I love that you rented two of your bedrooms as mid term and short term rentals and made enough to pay for the mortgage and now you are going to use the rental income to show you can qualify for another property.This is an excellent strategy and one more people should consider doing in this inflationary environment to offset the biggest cost in their budget--housing.As you rightly point out, you can use this strategy with every house you buy accumulating a portfolio of houses that you originally started out living in as a primary residence every two years.Well done and more people should consider doing the same, or rent their garage, or shed, or a boat, or an extra car.Love it!

No, if you want a low downpayment you could buy it with a FHA loan and live in one of the units the first year. 

I recommend you buy "Every Landlord's Legal Guide" by NOLO.

View report*This link comes directly from our calculators, based on information input by the member who posted.Hey Everyone, I'm really curious on any and all of your creative thoughts on how to structure this deal.

@Richard Benjamin WilhiteRecommend exploring as many sources as possible to get referrals AND cross-reference them to get as much accurate information as possible.Check out NARPM.com, BP’s Property Manager Finder (BiggerPockets: The Real Estate Investing Social Network), etc.Also, encourage you to learn from the mistakes of others - by reading posts here on BiggerPockets about owners not having their expectations met by their current Property Management Company.

Have a plan and target property, and be ready to buy. 

We paid to have someone cut and paste our information into online credit card applications (they applied for 10 cards in total), and then to have instructions on how to liquidate our funds emailed to us.

I’ve got an opportunity to buy a rental house potentially for zero down, but I’m not sure if this is a good deal or not.

Sometimes the commission checks can be low (i have a client purchasing a 50k property tomorrow at 2%) but helping someone buy their first investment property has been fun.