Closed on first deal last Friday!
I've been a "stalker" of the BP forums for quite some time now, reading and scouring posts without contributing much. I started the search for a duplex in Durham NC in early 2018 in an effort to buy and house-hack. I sent 100+ hand-written notes, asked property owners, went door knocking, and finally stumbled upon an off-market duplex that was too good to pass up! I work as a full-time realtor so I had all the paperwork, resources, and skills to negotiate the deal and get it to closing without having to pay someone else a commission. My fiancé (getting married in 3 weeks!) and I closed just last Friday. We used an FHA loan and put 5% down and the appraisal came back 18k over contract price. When living in one half, our mortgage minus the rental income, will be $350. When moved out (a few years down the road) we hope to cash flow $300-400/month. It rents for 1% of the purchase price.
Can't thank this community enough for the wealth of knowledge that it is. I hope this encourages readers. Even in a hot market (Durham is very very hot) deals are out there! They certainly aren't on the MLS though. Keep working hard and don't get frustrated if you don't find a deal in the first week. I got serious in finding a duplex in April of 2018. 6 months later and the work has paid off. Now it's time to do it again :)