<prompt> Human: My situation is that I currently live with my parents. Ill be 30 this year. My town is small and I am finding a few livable duplexes around the 50,000 range. My car is paid off, student loans are around 17k with current payments of 300month. I make roughly 40k a year. Why not buy a duplex, rent out half and live in the other? Anyone done this before or have any input? Thanks!Assistant: It sounds like youre looking at a very affordable place, which is good. However, I do have a few questions: How long do you plan on staying in the area? How are you at fixing things around the house? If you rent out half of your duplex, the tenant is going to expect you to fix things when they break. Granted, you could pay someone to do the work... but its a lot cheaper to do it yourself. Do you have any savings beyond the 8,000 mentioned in another comment? Generally, homeowners need a substantial emergency fund to cover major repairs that can pop up unexpectedly.Human: I have no plans on leaving. The job is fine, I have a network of family and friends here and am looking to settle in the area as of right now.I have little to no experience with handyman work. Ive never been in a situation where Ive had to do any serious repairs to a property.I have a 401k with 10,000ish... Other than that, my car which is probably worth 4k or so. Assistant: Youre definitely going to want to save more money then. Ideally 20 for the down payment, a couple thousand for closing costs, and 3-6 months worth of expenses as an emergency fund. Your 401k does not count as an emergency fund.Human: My other option is to rent though, which is roughly 500 a month, unless I find a roommate and split rent with them. Wouldnt monthly payments on a 50,000 place be cheaper especially if I can find a tenant for the other half?  <response>: The monthly payments might be cheaper especially if you rent out half, but home ownership comes with a lot more unpredictable expenses.When you rent, your monthly costs are mostly fixed. You might have to pay for a portion of the utilities... but beyond that, your rent payment is exactly the same every month. If the furnace breaks, the landlord is responsible for replacing it and you pay nothing extra.On the other hand, if you were the owner landlord in that scenario, you could end up having to pay 2,000 for a new furnace with little to no warning. Hence the emergency savings. 