How I Stopped Paying Rent

When I first moved to Austin, Texas five years ago, I was astonished by the outrageous rent rates! My previous apartment's rent was $365 and now the going rents for a comparable unit was $525! My rent was now at least 44% more per month. Naturally, I had to search for other alternatives. I began looking at buying a house. Well guess what? The home prices in Austin were sky high too! Ok, now what? Isn't there a middle ground where I could stop wasting money on rent and still build equity in my own home? Yes, the solution was to purchase my own duplex.

Owning a duplex is really the best of both worlds:

• You stop paying high rents
  
  
• You build home equity with ownership
  
  
• You generate monthly income from your investment

The jump from paying rent to paying a mortgage (home or duplex ownership) can be a great one. But that step can be much easier by buying a duplex. Why? It is easier to qualify to buy a duplex. You see, when you decide to buy a duplex, your income has suddenly jumped 20% or more. The source comes from your rental income stream from having a tenant. For example, if you earn $35,000 a year and your tenant pays you $700 a month rent, than that equates to an additional $8,400 a year to your income or about 24%. You effectively will be able buy a higher priced home.

The simple act of not paying rent any longer means you are no longer throwing money away each month. It now "counts" towards all the benefits mentioned so far. Buying your own duplex is a great alternative to buying a single family home because you kill two birds with one stone. You stop paying rent and move into your own home and you make an investment to start an income stream from rental property.

Hong Lee is a former renter and now owns, manages, and buys duplexes in Austin, Texas. He is the author of the book Duplex Secrets Revealed: A Comprehensive Guide to Finding, Evaluating, and Buying Your Own Duplex. For more valuable tips, a free virtual tour, and a free sample of the book, please visit: www.duplexdummy.com copyright DuplexDummy.Com

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