The cost of living is so high that food, and utilities are beyond what anyone imagined.

Quote from @Junior Maravel: Hello everyone I’m in the process of buying my first investment property in Cleveland and I’m looking for some help on tools/software/apps  you guys use for self managing a property living far away from it.  

It depends on your objective:1. trying to generate chunks of money = flips2. want an extra couple/few hundred dollars a month = buy a rental 3. want to live for free and redeploy what you would have spent on a mortgage = househack 4. want to acquire properties without a lot of money = BRRRRHousehacking immediately improves your quality of life financially.

Do you live locally?  

We have lived in and know the market very well, though this is our first time.

I'm leaning towards option 2, but I'd like help on key factors to determine this decision.Current status: I'm living in a duplex I bought for 210k, with 20k down.

If it’s break-even but you’re building equity, appreciation, and tax benefits while living in it, that’s not a bad starter play.Since the house already fits your family’s needs and only needs light sweat equity, one option is exactly what you mentioned: buy it, live there for 2 years (which gives you some tax perks on resale if you decide to sell), and then evaluate.

A specialist can help you not just file correctly, but also plan proactively—whether that’s structuring entities, timing capital improvements, or optimizing depreciation schedules.In short: the bigger the portfolio, the more leverage you get from someone who lives and breathes real estate tax.

They usually know what’s been approved recently and can give you ballpark costs for a duplex build vs. other options (like adding a rental unit/ADU).From there you can run the numbers: would it make more sense to build, live in one side and rent the other + your current house, or sell off part of the land and roll the proceeds into an existing duplex somewhere else?

If I couldn't see possibly living in it, I'm not going to try to get someone else to.