Buying Our First Property on a Budget- And How You Can Too

Shortly after being married, two things happened: (1) We started saving for our first house, and (2) we wanted to get income properties to provide an extra source of income. Since we weren't looking for our dream house yet, we thought, why not buy a duplex so we can fulfill both of those goals at once, and best of all live for free!
After talking with multiple family, friends, and other investors, we felt good about this approach. We figured if we want to build our rental portfolio, we could repeat this process about every year for the next few years and we would be golden! That plan hasn't really played out that way as personal circumstances have changed, but to this day this first duplex has probably been our most profitable property and we got it using the methods explained below.
Here is why starting with a duplex worked for us, and may be a good option for you.