You start talking about a 4-plex and then mention a duplex. Which are you looking at? You should be able to live in a 4-plex (perhaps even a tri-plex) ‘rent free’. As for your other questions:
I shoot for 12% CAP on average. If I can get great terms, I’d take lower.
Protect property taxes? I have no idea what you mean, but a corp will offer a better way to lower your income taxes than owning in your own name.
If my property isn’t for sale, the only reason I’d sell it is if someone paid me a ton of money. Generally it’s a waste of time to make offers on property that isn’t for sale, however you could contact them and leave your contact information for when they do want to sell. Then you’ll have first crack and be ‘alerted’ that it is now for sale.
Posted by Scott (OR) on April 14, 1999 at 16:33:52:
I recently thought that buying a 4-plex would be a good way for me to get my first home through an FHA loan. I started working with a realtor (just to get info) and found out that the expenses for these are much larger than I anticipated. I hoped to be in a situation where I could live in the duplex and consequently have the option to pay rent or not. Such is not the case. However, possibly I just have not found what would be considered a “deal” in this market. I do have a few questions however;
What cap rate should I be shooting for?
Is a corporation the best way to protect some of these property taxes?
Is it worth my time to make offers on property that isn’t for sale?