Property management firm while living in one unit of a duplex?

Question

Hello.

I'm a Loan Officer and soon to be real estate agent, so I'm pretty handy with understanding the laws and nuances of these topics.

I've been wondering... If you live in a multi-unit property and rent out the other unit(s) which cover your PITI in full (with some net cash flow), you essentially do not need to pay rent, am I correct?

So, in the instance of hiring a property management firm to take care of retaining tenancy, repairs, etc... Is the 6% - 12% property management fee applied to your occupancy, even though you aren't paying rent? I am aware that the property management fee is 6% - 12% of the gross rent. Well, you're technically not having to pay any rent at all. So, are you going to get charged? Will your unit not receive any support in the event of damages, etc?

Thank you if you took the time to read my post, and hopefully this post will pique your interest, especially those of you who are into house hacking!

Ryan Murdock · Answer

I doubt it would make much sense to hire a PM for a building you live in. Probably better off handling it yourself. You may have trouble even finding a company who would take on an owner occupied property.

Alexander Kostrubiec · Answer

@Kim Meredith Hampton Probably gonna go for a 4flat. I'm 22 and my girlfriend are moving out of our parents' places soon. The entire plan is to have an FHA loan to get 3.5% down on the unit, live in it for a year, then legally convert it to an investment property and move to get a quick easy investment property.It makes sense that a duplex wouldn't be worth their time. I have no qualms against paying for my unit, as long as I'm still net positive cash flow.