Trying to start out but need to help.

[Kareem Lyons]

Hello, 

I'm trying to start out as a real estate investor. I have 25k saved and want to house hack but I'm running into some hurdles. Most multi-family properties in my area are either not in a good area, are too expensive, or the units are already rented. For multi properties that I do want to live in and house hack. I can't find any that are in my price range (under 300k) and in an okay area. 

Most of the cheaper properties already have 1 or all the units rented. Now I could buy a duplex that is already occupied but then I wouldn't be able to house hack it ( since they are not in good areas). I did a report on the address 848-850 Salisbury Rd, Columbus, OH, 43204 and the report said I would cash flow $300. both units are already occupied it seems. Could someone see if I ran those numbers correctly and that they are correct ?. overall I'm just frustrated. 

I can't find a duplex in my price range that I'm willing to live in for house hacking. 

If I were to buy something cheaper that would damage the possibility of house hacking due to bad areas and already being occupied. 

I'm thinking of just buying a single-family home and renting it or occupying it.

[Brandon Goldsmith]

The Columbus market is definitely very competitive for MF properties at the moment. 300k is a pretty good budget to have and there are still a lot of good areas where a duplex can easily be bought under that. I would suggest taking a look at properties that maybe need some more cosmetic updates and you can add value to overall. Still plenty of deals out there. Good luck! @Kareem Lyons