house thread- Does anyone here own a Duplex? both sides

[evident]

I was looking to rent an apt/buy a house w/ my fiance by the end of the year. We were leaning towards renting but we found a duplex that may change things up a bit. We'd live in one half, rent out the other.

It's in the center of a historical old town with shops, restaraunts, coffee shops, play /movie theater and places where many people walk around. asking price is within our price range $400k, however it needs work though. its 100 years old and from what I can tell it would need central air, electricity redone (knob and tooth and no ground plugs) and it has very nice hardwood floors, but i'd want to refinish them before moving (minimize dust etc). before those modifications, we could probably ask $1650 for one side, 3BR 1 bath w/ an attic and basement. w/ central air and redone floors we could get 1800. There are some other cosmetic improvements that we want to do (trim overgrown shrubs, reseed back yard, kitchens need some work) but those can be done over time.

We found this place by contacting a realtor about another property where she was the listing agent. we ended up driving around town and she was able to take us in to this place as well. she's not the listing agent for the duplex however, and I have a feeling she wants us to pick her as a buying agent, and she seems pretty cool so far. she suggests that we should bid way below asking price if we were interested since it does require significant work.


If anyone here lives in a duplex and rents out one side, could you tell me your general experiences with it, or if you have any advice about buying an old house in general.

 

[Gibson486]

don't do it. Lots of headaches.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

Unless you can do ALL of this work yourself (or know a GOOD general contractor) then pass.


Basically, if it was easy the realtor/owner would do the work and reap the reward.

 

[ahenkel]

My advice don't rent to anyone you know personally. They'll find some way to take advantage. Hell I'd rent to someone you know you won't like.

 

[trmiv]

Don't do it. This sounds like a bad episode of one of those HGTV shows waiting to happen. I'm sensing budget overruns up the ying yang. Then after that you have to be a landlord to someone who shares a wall with you.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

I'll also add that unless it's 1 floor (+ basement + attic) then it's not worth it for any homeowner. "Installing" central a/c is a major undertaking.

 

[AlienCraft]

don't do it. Lots of headaches.

Unless you aere willing to be a hard-assed landlord at some point in time, you may want to also see about professional property management.
You may want to incorporate in any case, depending on your state laws, as a problem tenant might seek to attach all your assets in the event of a judgement against you.
Talk to a Real Estate attorney in your area.

 

[rivan]

I had one for ~9 years. Very long story short, it was a LOT of hassle, but by the time I sold, rental income was ALMOST paying the mortgage every month. I sold for almost 3x what I paid (though did an extensive remodel of my unit). I sold just before the housing 'crash'.

It wasn't free money, but it was absolutely worth it. Be choosy about renters (I was in a lower-middle-class part of town; great renters were hard to come by) and be firm as a landlord (I was naive and far too nice to my first renter).

 

[Rubycon]

Knob and tooth?

Yikes that bites.

 

[TwiceOver]

By "GF" you really mean Wife right? If not, then don't do it.

 

[evident]

By "GF" you really mean Wife right? If not, then don't do it.

oops, we're engaged so pretty much at this point. nothing to worry about on that front here.

Unless you can do ALL of this work yourself (or know a GOOD general contractor) then pass.


Basically, if it was easy the realtor/owner would do the work and reap the reward.

There are no records of when this house was last sold. My guess is that it was inherited, as a sister lives on the right side, and brother lives on the left. both have a few kids. I have a strong feeling that they are broke and unmotivated and just want to pocket money and get out.

The realtor that I am talking to has a few properties in town that she is renting out. all old but in a little better shape than this one. As a side note- most old places in this town don't have central air, but we'd like it just because we'd be living there and window units might damage the new windows (one of the few things that they actually did for the house). and also, since most rentals in this neighborhood don't have it, we could probably charge a premium for it.