Perks of Owning a Duplex in Warrensburg, MO Near Whiteman Air Force Base

Hello again, dear readers! In this article, I’m excited to tell you about the perks of owning a duplex in Warrensburg, MO near Whiteman AFB.

If you haven’t considered purchasing this type of home before, you’re about to become a lot more interested - especially when you learn how owning a duplex can make you more money than it costs you!

What Is A Duplex?

First, though, let’s talk about what a duplex is. A duplex is a property that is divided into two units that sit adjacent to one another.

There are two types of duplexes: side-by-side and up-down. A side-by-side duplex is exactly what it sounds like. It’s two units that sit next to each other with a wall separating them. An up-down duplex consists of one unit sitting on top of another.

From the outside, a duplex looks like one big house. But each unit typically has its own separate front door, driveway, and sometimes even their own garage. In the back, each unit will also have its own yard and fence.

Perks Of Owning And Living In A Duplex

Let’s talk about the perks of owning and living in a duplex.

1. You Can Live There for free

Purchasing a duplex is one of my favorite home hacks. Why do I call it a home hack? Because when you buy a duplex, you can move into one unit and then rent the second unit out to someone else. The money you charge the other person for rent can pay for most of, if not the entirety of your mortgage payment and utilities. This means you’ll own the property, but you’ll be living there for free!

2. You Can Save A Lot Of Money

There’s so much you can do with the money you save on paying your mortgage and utility bills out of your own pocket. You can save it for a single-family home, another duplex, or reinvest it into the property to make it worth more, so that you can charge even more rent. The possibilities are endless!

3. You May Qualify For A Larger Home Loan

Lenders often take the fact that you will be renting out one of the units in your duplex into consideration when determining how large of a loan you qualify for. For that reason, you could actually end up qualifying for a pretty sizable loan, which will open up a wider range of nice properties in Warrensburg for you to choose from.

Downsides Of Owning And Living In A Duplex

As with any kind of residential property, there are downsides to owning and living in a duplex. Here are the most important ones you should consider.

1. You Have To Live Really Close To Your Neighbors

The harsh reality of living in a duplex, whether it’s a side-by-side or up-down configuration, is that you will be very close to your neighbors. (And don’t think that you can avoid this by renting out both units; by law, you must reside in one of them.) If you or your neighbors tend to be noisy people, then the duplex life may not be for you.

2. You Will Have All The Responsibilities Of A Landlord

Since you’re renting out one-half of your property, guess what that makes you? That’s right: a landlord. And being a landlord comes with all kinds of responsibilities, including fixing problems with the unit, scheduling maintenance checks, taking calls from the tenants, and collecting rent. Some people simply don’t have enough time in their day for all that work.

3. You May Have To Hire A Property Manager

If you don’t want to take on the landlord responsibilities, you do have the option of hiring a property manager. But keep in mind that you’ll be paying them anywhere from 7% to 10% of the rent. That translates to less of a profit for you, but way less of a headache since they will be taking care of all repairs, coollecting rent and dealing with finding tenants (and then dealing with those tenants).