About

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I bought a duplex when I was in my late 20s, and have owned it for nearly four years now. It was my first experience being a homeowner, and my first experience being a landlord. I’ve been learning as I go, and I’m writing this blog so that other people considering the owner-occupied duplex lifestyle can have a first-hand glimpse of what it’s like.

While I initially bought the duplex as a way of subsidizing my own cost of living (and getting myself into an ownership position earlier than I would have been able to otherwise), the whole experience of it has had quite an effect on my worldview. I’ve gotten much more interested in investing in real estate in general (thinking about buying more properties), more interested in generating passive income (REI and blogging are a couple of obvious sources), and becoming more financially sound in general. I’ve started reading up, online and in print (i.e. books like “Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money–That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!“), and am looking for ways to generate passive income.

That said, being a landlord in an owner-occupied duplex is sometimes not as passive as it sounds… ;-) Sometimes its a lot of work. Most days, though, it’s not.

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Have something to add? Leave it in the comments!

Here are links to a few popular posts:

Pros and Cons of Owner-Occupied Duplex Living

Tips for buying a duplex

Duplex as a tax shelter

Fair housing laws and renting (or not renting) to families with children

Tenant Screening (Don’t get too excited just yet.)

Checking References

A Moving-Out Checklist

Don’t see a topic that you’d like me to address? Please leave it in the comments!


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10 Comments Add your own

  • 1. Christopher Smith  |  April 23rd, 2007 at 11:05 pm

    I like your site and stop by from time to time to see what you’re up to. I mentioned you in a post today. Good luck and keep up the good work!

  • 2. Mr. Cheap  |  January 7th, 2008 at 3:41 am

    Nice blog, I enjoyed reading through your archive. I wrote a long comment, but you “math captcha” killed it (and I’m too tired to write it again :-) ). You *may* want to try another spam-prevention system if you’re trying to encourage commenting…

  • 3. landlady  |  January 31st, 2008 at 11:16 pm

    Thanks, Mr. Cheap. The math plugin was kind of cumbersome… I’ve installed the Askimet plugin for Wordpress, and that seems to be working just fine.

  • 4. Perry Pacouloute  |  April 3rd, 2008 at 10:50 pm

    I like your site a lot. I just bought a duplex last month from my landlord after living on one side for about a year. Some exprience I tell you.I was looking at the local bookstore for a book about duplex owners to see how they deal with taxes and tenants etc.. I could not find a single one. Your site came to my rescue. It’s so funny that some of the issues that you talked about in your archive, I was thinking about them before i read them in your site (Cashflow, buying the duplex next door, getting an account to do my taxes next year, etc). Your site will truly be my reference guide. Keep up the good work.

  • 5. Lisa  |  May 29th, 2008 at 9:14 pm

    Love your blog. I can relate to it in an amazing number of ways. I also bought a duplex about 3 years ago in my late twenties and I also owner occupy. The rich dad books are favorites of mine, and owning investment property has also made me become more interested in passive income and I look at new real estate a lot now.

    Keep up the fabulous blog, I will be back soon.

  • 6. Dee in San Francisco  |  July 11th, 2008 at 6:31 pm

    Hi!

    I also live in my duplex property and rent out the 2nd unit. I’m not sure if your website is current (no dates to be found), but if so, and you answer questions from your comments section, I’d like to know if you have Landlord’s Insurance?

    I don’t and sometimes feel very worried about the fact, mostly in terms of law suits, liability. The building is covered by my Homeowner’s Insurance and the tenants are responsible for their personal possessions, but I could lose everything in a lawsuit.

    Thanks for any info or thoughts on this.

    D.

  • 7. Maria  |  July 31st, 2008 at 11:31 am

    I think your site is awesome! I am so glad I stumbled on it while doing research in purchasing the duplex that I live in.

  • 8. Webby  |  September 20th, 2008 at 4:43 pm

    Be careful of the advice you read in Rich Dad Poor Dad. The guy who wrote it actually knows very little about real estate and his “rich dad” is a fictitious made up person. This site has a good critique: http://www.johntreed.com/Kiyosaki.html

  • 9. Jason  |  October 24th, 2008 at 4:27 pm

    I am considering buying a duplex in my hometown. I was able to get 100% but now with the new changes as of Oct 14th, I’ll need to come up with a deposit.

    Just wondering if there is any way to use the rents from a duplex as a deposit or something to that effect?

    J

  • 10. landlady  |  October 26th, 2008 at 1:22 pm

    Hi Jason. I bought my duplex back in 2003 when they were handing out loans like they were candy…. Having a signed lease and deposit check from a tenant, though, did help me qualify for a larger loan than I would have otherwise.

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