could any of you offer me some advice about buying a duplex? there is a lot to read here but id appreciate it.

Question

my first concern is that i work as an over the road truck driver and so im never home. i would be relying heavily on a property manager. would i be able to pull off owning a duplex if i am only home once or twice every two months?

second concern is that i know the area in which i plan to buy (Cleveland, OH) but im not sure if i know it well enough to be purchasing a home there. would you considor knowing the area to be vitaly important?

third concern is that from looking on remax.com most of the homes in the Cleveland area in my price range just dont look too attractive to me. they are older looking houses but thats the way a lot of the houses are in Cleveland. it just concerns me buying such an old house.
okay now for the important part, MONEY

first an explination: i work as an otr truck driver but im taking classes online and i expect to finish my degree 3 years from now at which point i will move home.

so in the meantime im trying to make as much money as possible. my idea is that i will buy this duplex and keep it for about 2.5 years... and then when i come off the road i will sell it and use that money to help me buy my own house. ..so thats why my figuring is for 2.5 years:

if each unit rents at between $500-$600
thats aprox $1000 a month.
lets say each unit misses one payment per year
so thats 11 months X $1000 = $10,000
$10,000 X 2.5 = $25,000

okay i know that interest doesnt work exactly this way but ive heard that this is close... and if anything im figuring on the safe side... assume an APR of 7%

25,000 X .07 = $1750 paid to the bank in interest

ive heard property manager charge 10% right?
so 1,000 X 12 X 2.5 = $30,000
30,000 * .1 = $3,000

and then i really dont know how much misc money would be but lets figure $5000? is that safe?

so the final breakdown looks like this:

+25,000 rent money
-1,750 interest
-3,000 property manager
-5,000 misc expenses
------
15,250 profit

right? is everything i did there a safe calculation? please respons to me about any or all of this, i would really appreciate it, thank you!

yes, Tom, that actually does help. i will take that into considoration.

Answer 1

You need to check the property thoroughly, or have it inspected 2 to 400 never take the owners word, they lie. next check the closest police station, see what the rate of crime is in that area. gang involvement drugs etc. Shop around for property mgr. 10 is high.
You may have to spend some time on curb appeal before you sell, paint landscaping shutters etc. Hope this helps!

Answer 2

Get A resate agent to help you don,t do your self you have to take a look at it and see if right for you and not on Internet face to face hope this help you