Is a Duplex for You?

As the owner of a 2-family property you can reside in one unit and collect rent from the second unit of the home. That rental income can help you cover the monthly mortgage. As a result, you may end up spending less each month to own a 2-family home than you would a 1-family home.

True, a 2-family (or “duplex”) home will generally have a higher price than a 1-family home in the same neighborhood. Therefore, your down payment and closing costs will likely be higher. But since you’ll be living in the house as your primary residence, you can still qualify for mortgage programs that allow as little as a 3% to 5% total down payment to purchase the property. That may be well within your reach!

But let’s face it: the math is probably not your main concern with this scenario, right?

Instead, you may be wondering if you can live at the same address where you also have a tenant.

Some of you who are reading this will have no hesitation to say “yes.” You might even envision a sort of community at your address, where people chat pleasantly in front of the building and walk dogs together before going to work … or something like that.

But other readers will feel a strong “no” to the idea of living at a property alongside of their tenant. You might not want to feel the discomfort of collecting rent from someone under the same roof; or maybe you are concerned about a level of privacy for your personal life.

Everyone will have a different feelings about the idea of landlording at a duplex while living there. [Fruit Pickers, Table Setters and Clock Watchers may be more inclined to say yes; while Ring Reachers and Shadow Boxers are more likely to say no.]

Regardless of how you feel initially, you should still evaluate the financials before you set your heart in one direction or the other.

We love to crunch numbers at Ownerscope to help you map out a game plan for free. Call, text or email us, and we’ll help you evaluate if a 1-family house or 2-family house makes sense for your future.