My First Deal: House Hacking with a Duplex

[Joe Chirdon]

Hello BP Community,

Last week I closed on my first property! It's a nice 1960s brick duplex in Harrisburg, PA's mid-town area. I will not be cash-flowing on the deal, as I will be living in one of the units, BUT I will be paying less than what I am currently paying in rent ($800). I bought the property for 68k. It's in pretty good shape (basically turn key, with one long term tenant). I'd call the neighborhood "-B".The 30yr/FHA mortgage is going to be roughly 700/mo. The tenant is paying $610/mo, which I am thinking about increasing to $650. Plus my GF is going to pay utilities! At the end of the day, hopefully I'll be saving roughly 300-400/mo over what I was paying in rent.

It's a bit overwhelming though; my list of tasks includes:

Setting up billing for water, trash, electric, gas;

Cleaning up the gutters and the yard;

A fresh coat of paint and re-staining the hard wood floors;

Sanding and painting the deck and railings;

buying a new washer/dryer and

Figuring out how to approach the tenant about a rent increase.

Anyways, I know it will be a positive learning experience and hopefully be the beginning of a successful real estate investment career! 

-Joe C