Portfolio Loan / Local BankGreat if you plan on eventually rolling multiple assets into one relationship.Pros: potentially better pricing.Cons: more documentation, recourse, and often lower LTV on single-asset cash-out.How much equity should you keep?

But, if you decide to convert the property to a rental and see how it performs, you would have the option to later do a 1031 exchange.

So you WILL cashflow eventually but go into the property expecting not to cashflow now.

If you eventually buy non-owner-occupied properties, then LLC financing becomes easy.Once you move beyond house hacking and into pure investment deals, lenders like:DSCR lendersHard money lendersCommercial portfolio lenders…will happily lend directly to your LLC — no business credit history needed.They underwrite your personal credit, not the age of the LLC.So what’s the best direction for your first duplex?

Our maintenance guy introduced us and we met for lunches periodically, got to know each other and I didn't have the intention of selling my portfolio when we met but eventually our investing timelines lined up.

One of my duplexes in South Shore cash flows and I'm converting the basement to a 3rd unit as a 1 bed/1 bath. 

If you start with highly motivated leads (tax delinquent 3+ years, code violations, absentee owners), your 7-12 touchpoints are WAY more likely to convert than if you're starting with cold Zillow scrapes or generic direct mail lists.I think the real formula is:1.

I purchased the property for $165K and it appraised at $171K at the time of purchase, so I was able to buy it under market.Right after closing, I added a half bath using existing plumbing and added a wall to convert an open space into a private bedroom.

We hope you find the money you need and eventually close on your transaction. 

I suspect a combination of stubbornness and the realization of “Oh ****, I just wasted five thousand dollars” made many of those conversations less productive.Because that work was a relatively small, supplemental part of my income, I eventually shifted to a model focused on pre-recorded, self-paced modules covering the same subjects I would ordinarily advise on directly.