Life and time have a way of sneaking away from us.

The older I get, the faster it seems to go, am I alone? Hindsight is 20/20, and for the most part, I love our life and have been happy with a lot of the choices we’ve made along the way–but one of our biggest mistakes still haunts my dreams:

WE SHOULD HAVE BOUGHT A DUPLEX!

Duplexes are like a diamond in the rough and can be really difficult to come by, but oh, man…that rental income slipped through our hands like sand, and I am determined to help as many people avoid the same mistake as possible. 

First we need to clarify some definitions: 

A single-family residence is a structure that is used as a single dwelling unit. Good examples of this would be a residential house, a condominium, or a townhome. 

A multifamily dwelling is housing where multiple families/people can inhabit the same building or several buildings all within one complex.

A duplex is the ideal first purchase. Why? Because the down payment percentage for a single-family house is the same as it would be if you were to purchase and reside in a multifamily property. You will need to speak with your trusted lender to get more details on the financing. 

Long story short, you can buy property that you pay 100% of the mortgage for, or you can buy a property where a tenant can reside in the second unit and cover a large portion of the mortgage.

Some people struggle with the idea of becoming a landlord or living so closely to someone else, but for a fun way to find out what kind of real estate you should purchase, I’d encourage you to take my fun quiz HERE. 

If you’d like to chat more about the pros and cons of owning–and living in–a multifamily property, let me know!