How to Start Real Estate Investing: An Owner Occupied Duplex

Owner-Occupied Duplex: The Easiest Way to Start Real Estate Investing

What do you think when you hear someone say that they’re a real estate investor? Odds are, some of these terms will cross your mind – successful, wealthy, huge risk taker.

But there’s a way to get started in real estate investing that doesn’t require any risks, wealth, or success. Rather than being wealthy to begin with, real estate investors are often able to start with nothing and build their portfolio from there.

Rather than being successful already, many real estate investors are able to drive success through investing.

And finally, instead of being risk takers, many investors are able to approach investing in a way that’s safer than buying a single family home. How is this possible? An owner-occupied duplex.

If it wasn’t for owner-occupied duplexes, most of the stereotypes about real estate investing would be correct. Due to government regulations, becoming a landlord typically requires two years of experience. As far as mortgage lenders are concerned, most investment properties also require a 20% down payment. In other words, real estate investment often requires pre-existing experience and wealth.

However, by living in an owner-occupied duplex, new real estate investors are able to gain their landlording experience while living in the property they’re renting out. By living in an owner-occupied duplex, the government allows for the bypass of the two-year landlording experience requirement. You can start renting out your duplex without any prior experience.

In addition to this, duplex owners who occupy their own duplex are also allowed to purchase a duplex with FHA financing, meaning, of course, that duplexes can be purchased with as little as 3.5% down.

Still worried about qualifying?

It shouldn’t be a problem. When qualifying for a duplex, you can consider up to 75% of the property’s anticipated rental income to help you qualify.

So ultimately, you’ll be able to qualify for a better duplex than single family home.

Not a bad deal for a first-time investor!

The Benefits of Living in an Owner-Occupied Duplex

We don’t want to waste words, so we’ll tell you right away that there’s one great reason to invest in an owner-occupied duplex. That reason is financial freedom. Like the popular tiny home movement, duplexes offer an attractive option—living practically mortgage free. This is accomplished by a duplex owner living in one-half of a property and renting out the other half.

Many duplex owners who have purchased properties at a great value are even able to rent out the other side of their duplex at a rate that covers their entire mortgage payment. In Minneapolis, there are duplexes on the market that fit just about any budget. There are duplexes that have as little as one bedroom per unit, and others that have as many as 4 bedrooms or more on each side.

Duplexes are for sale all across the Twin Cities and even in some suburbs. Whether you’d like to live in Minneapolis’ Powderhorn Park or Saint Paul’s Payne-Phalen, there’s likely to be a duplex for you.

Conclusion

Want to talk more about your options? We’d be happy to sit down and talk over coffee. Feel free to shoot us a message today, and we’ll get back to you with more information.

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