First Duplex Purchase

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Hey everyone – first post here and excited to finally join the community. I’ve been reading BiggerPockets for a while and figured it was time to jump in and ask for some advice.

My dad and I are planning to start investing together. He already owns a small portfolio (about 10 units), all self-managed, mostly long-term rentals. He’s pretty old-school with how he runs things and hasn’t really used much tech or systems.

The plan for our first deal together is to purchase a turnkey duplex locally (Haddon Township, NJ area) and have me fully manage it to get my feet wet. For now, all proceeds go to him until we eventually set up an LLC together and start structuring things more formally. So essentially this is a low-risk learning opportunity for me.

The numbers we’re seeing:

• Turnkey duplex
• ~6% cash-on-cash
• Stable rental area
• Mostly banking on long-term appreciation + buying local
• Self-managing

My goals:

• Learn operations/management hands-on
• Introduce tech and systems (property management software, digital leases, automated rent collection, better bookkeeping, etc.)
• Eventually scale into our own LLC and grow the portfolio

Since this is my first real step into investing, I’d love some feedback from those who’ve been through something similar:

1. Does this seem like a smart way to get started?
2. Anything you wish you knew before managing your first duplex?
3. Any must-have tech/tools/software you recommend for small landlords?
4. Is 6% CoC reasonable for a stable, appreciation-focused market like this, or should we hold out for better numbers?
5. Any structuring or family partnership pitfalls I should think about early?

Appreciate any advice. Excited to learn and contribute here.

Thanks in advance!