The comparison

Duplex or single family? The honest comparison.

We build both. So we have no reason to sell you the one that is wrong for your life. Here is how the two actually differ once you stop reading headlines.

Talk it through with us

Side by side

	New duplex	New single family
Down payment	Same programs — FHA 3.5%, VA $0, if you live in one side	Same programs
Monthly payment	Higher on paper, lower in practice once the other side rents	All yours
Income	One rent check every month	None, unless you rent a room
Loan limit	Higher — two-unit limits are above one-unit limits	One-unit limit
Privacy	A tenant shares a wall or a floor with you	Nobody
Work	You are a landlord: leases, repairs, turnover	Just your own house
When you move out	Rent both sides and it becomes a real income property	One rental, or you sell
Resale pool	Buyers who want income — a smaller, more specific market	Everybody

The case for the duplex

You are buying the same land, pulling the same permit, hiring the same crew and signing the same kind of loan — and getting two doors instead of one. That is the whole argument, and it is a strong one.

Somebody else helps pay your note. Every month. That is the part people feel first.
Lenders may count projected rent toward your qualifying income, which can mean you qualify for a better building than you thought. That is the lender's decision, not ours.
Two-unit loan limits are higher than one-unit limits, so the ceiling is higher.
It keeps working after you leave. Move out in four years, rent both sides, and you own an income property instead of an empty house.
Cost per door is lower. One roof, one foundation, one permit, one closing.

The case for the single family

Some people should not buy a duplex, and we will say so out loud.

You want the whole place to be yours. No shared wall, no shared driveway, nobody's music at eleven.
You do not want to be a landlord. It is a job. A small one in a good year and a real one in a bad one.
You are stretching already. If the plan only works when the other side is always rented, the plan is thin. Vacancy happens.
You plan to sell in a few years. A house sells to everybody. A duplex sells to a narrower group of buyers.

The question that actually decides it

Not "which one makes more money." Everybody knows the answer to that one. The real question is: are you willing to have a tenant in your life?

If yes, the duplex is usually the better building. If the honest answer is no, buy the house and sleep well. A duplex bought by somebody who did not want a tenant becomes a bad investment fast.

What about a triplex or a fourplex?

More doors sounds better until the FHA self-sufficiency test shows up. On three- and four-unit properties, FHA requires the projected rents to cover the full payment — and in a lot of markets that test is where the deal dies. Duplexes are not subject to it. That is one of the quiet reasons two units is the sweet spot for the first building. More on the FHA path.

You do not have to choose blind

Bring us your situation. We will run both — the house and the duplex — on the same lot, with the same loan, and show you what each one looks like month to month. Then you decide. We build either one.

Run both numbers with us

(504) 407-3199 · [email protected]

Keep reading

House hacking math FHA 3.5% down VA $0 down First-time buyers The five models What it costs

Where we build

New Orleans Metairie Kenner Westbank Slidell Covington & Mandeville

Investment Property Builders is a home builder — not a lender, a mortgage broker, or a financial advisor. This page is general education, not advice about your situation. Loan programs, limits and underwriting rules are set by lenders and agencies, change over time, and are subject to borrower qualification and lender approval. Whether a lender counts projected rent toward your income is the lender's decision. Rental income is not guaranteed and real estate can lose value.

Operated by DuCar Construction, LLC — Louisiana Residential License No. 883334, Commercial License No. 63084. 638 Papworth Ave., Suite 100, Metairie, LA 70005. Equal Housing Opportunity.

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