My wife and I are currently shopping for a live-in duplex or triplex for our first home. The plan is to live in it for a few years while saving up another down payment to buy a single family home while keeping the duplex to rent. I've been hearing some people talk about how there is a recession or housing crash on the horizon.
Here's my question: If we find a place where the numbers make sense for it to be a profitable rental after we move out should we be very worried about an impending crash? Would rents be severely affected by a housing crash or recession? And ultimately should we continue renting and wait for the crash before buying our first property?
I would say no, don't worry too much about it. Rents tend to be a bit sticky and I don't think they would drop severely. In the last housing crash, rents went UP during/soon thereafter as there were more people looking to rent!
Also, in my opinion, I don't think we'll see a crash soon, but likely more a tapering in the market to something more balanced/normal. There probably will be a small recession in the next few years, but not major. Again, my opinion.
As the owner/occupant of a duplex, I think your plan is a good one. ;-)
