¿Qué es, en palabras sencillas? Compras un edificio de dos unidades, vives en una y rentas la otra. La renta de tu inquilino paga buena parte de tu hipoteca, así que tu costo de vida baja mientras eres dueño de un activo que se aprecia. Con obra nueva lo consigues sin heredar el techo, el cableado ni la plomería de otro.
Lo que de verdad te cuesta al mes. Sobre el ejemplo de $372,000, con FHA al 3.5% de enganche y una tasa ilustrativa del 6%:
¿Por qué el impuesto es más alto que en una casa? La exención de homestead solo cubre la parte donde vives. Orleans avalúa al 10% del valor de mercado y cobra alrededor de 148 a 150 mills. Sobre $410,000 son $41,000 avaluados; la exención te quita $7,500 contra tu propio lado y quedan unos $33,500 gravables. Jefferson (Metairie, Kenner, el Westbank) cobra menos que Orleans, así que el mismo edificio se sostiene más barato allá.
Por qué el seguro cuesta tanto aquí. Viento y tormenta. Nuestros propios dúplex de obra nueva vienen corriendo entre $3,800 y $4,200 al año porque un edificio nuevo carga clasificaciones de viento actuales. Esa diferencia es dinero real todos los meses, y es uno de los argumentos más fuertes para construir en vez de comprar viejo.
Seguro de inundación. Depende del lote. Donde el prestamista lo exige, presupuesta entre $133 y $175 al mes; nuestras pólizas corren de $1,600 a $2,100 al año. Donde no lo exigen, eso se descuenta completo de tu pago. Te decimos en cuál de las dos situaciones está un lote antes de que te comprometas. Y lo decimos en voz alta: que el banco no exija seguro de inundación no significa que el agua no pueda llegar.
¿Y si el inquilino deja de pagar? Lo presupuestas desde el principio. Reservas, buen filtro de inquilinos, y tener claro que tu peor escenario es el pago completo, unos $3,122, no una catástrofe: sigues viviendo en el edificio.
¿Se puede con préstamo VA? Sí, y con cero de enganche. Un dúplex califica mientras ocupes una de las unidades.
House hacking · Greater New Orleans
Your neighbor's rent check shows up every month and goes straight at your mortgage. You are not a landlord across town — you are home, on the other side of the wall, paying a fraction of what your friends pay for a one-bedroom.
Schedule a free consultIt is the simplest idea in real estate, and most people never hear it until it is too late to use it.
You buy a two-unit building instead of a house. You live in one unit — so the bank treats it as your home, with a homeowner's down payment and a homeowner's interest rate, not an investor's. Then you rent the other unit, and that rent goes against your payment.
Same loan. Same down payment. One extra kitchen, and a tenant paying part of your mortgage.
Here is the example from our calculator on the home page — a 3/2 + 3/2 duplex, FHA financing:
That is what it takes to get in. Now the monthly — including the three lines most builders leave off.
About twelve hundred a month — in a brand-new building you own, on a lot you own, while a tenant pays down a loan with your name on it. A one-bedroom apartment in this city rents for close to that, and at the end of it you own nothing.
Where every number comes from. A loan of $365,262 once the 1.75% upfront FHA premium is financed in, at 6% over 30 years — an illustration, not your rate. Mortgage insurance at the FHA annual rate of 0.55%, which stays for the life of the loan at 3.5% down. Property tax at the Orleans Parish rate: residential is assessed at 10% of the assessor market value and the parish runs roughly 148 to 150 mills. The homestead exemption takes $7,500 off the assessed value, but only against the half you live in — on a duplex you do not get it on the rented side. Hazard insurance at $4,200 a year, the top of the $3,800 to $4,200 range our own new-construction duplexes have been running. A new building carrying current wind ratings prices better than the old stock around it, and that gap is real money every month. Rent at $1,900 — what a new 3 bed / 2 bath side has been leasing for in the areas we build; some lease at $1,950.
Change any one of those and the answer changes. Run your own numbers on the calculator and put your real rate and your real rent in it.
Flood insurance is not in that number, and the lot is what decides it. It is a separate policy from the homeowner's insurance in the table, and there is no flood premium in that number. Whether a lender requires one comes down to the flood determination on your specific lot — not on the neighborhood, and not on what the house next door pays. There are lots in this metro where a lender will not require flood insurance at all. If yours is one of them, the table above is the whole number — there is nothing to add. Where it is required, budget $133 to $175 a month — flood policies on our own buildings have been running $1,600 to $2,100 a year. On the example above, that is the difference between about $1,222 out of pocket and about $1,355 to $1,397.
Two things we will say out loud. We pull the flood determination on your specific lot before you commit, because it changes your payment for as long as you own the building. And a lender not requiring flood insurance does not mean the water cannot come — a great deal of what went under in 2005 was not in a high-risk zone. Not required is not the same as not smart.
About that 6%. Interest rates move — with the economy, with the market, and with the bank. Two lenders quoting the same borrower on the same day will not give you the same number, and the rate you are offered depends on your credit, your down payment, your loan program and the day you lock it. The 6% used above is an illustration so you can see how the pieces fit together. It is not a quote, not an offer, and not a prediction of what you will get. Only a licensed lender can tell you your rate, and we are not one. Bring us the rate your lender quotes and we will run this same table with your real numbers.
We are not going to sell you a fantasy. Here is the honest version.
It is a shared wall. A new building with modern insulation and separate systems is a different experience than a 1950s double, but it is still a duplex. If the idea of a neighbor bothers you at all, this is not your strategy.
Something breaks at nine at night, they call you. On new construction, with everything under warranty, that call is rare in the early years — new roof, new HVAC, new plumbing, new electrical. But the call is yours. If you would rather it not be, we connect you with local property managers who handle it for a fee.
Choosing a tenant matters more when they live ten feet away. Take the time. Check income, check references, check the last landlord — not the current one, the last one.
FHA and VA both require you to live there. Generally you move in within 60 days of closing and stay at least a year. That is the trade for the down payment and the rate.
Most house hackers in New Orleans buy a sixty-year-old double, because that is what is for sale. Then they discover what sixty years does to a building.
The low payment is what gets people in the door. What actually changes your life is what happens after.
This is the difference between buying a house and buying an asset. A house costs you money every month for thirty years. This one pays you.
House hacking is the strategy. The loan is how you fund it, and you have two doors:
Conventional financing works too, at a higher down payment. We will walk you through which one fits on the consult.
We have built relationships with a number of banks and loan officers across the New Orleans area. If you don't have a lender, we connect you with ours. We are not the lender — the bank approves your loan, sets your rate, and decides what you qualify for. If you already have someone you trust, bring them.
New Orleans · Metairie · Kenner · Slidell · Covington · Mandeville · Westbank
Pick a time and run your numbers(504) 407-3199 · [email protected]
Investment Property Builders is a home builder — not a lender, a mortgage broker, or a financial advisor. Nothing on this page is a loan offer, a commitment to lend, a determination that you qualify, or investment advice. We make introductions to lenders as a courtesy; we do not originate, approve, or guarantee any loan, and we receive no compensation for referring you.
The figures shown are an illustration using the sample inputs from our on-site calculator, not a quote and not a prediction. They include principal and interest, FHA mortgage insurance, property tax and homeowner's insurance as shown, and exclude flood insurance, vacancy, maintenance, reserves and management fees. Rental income is not guaranteed — units can sit vacant, tenants can stop paying, and market rents can fall. Real estate can lose value. FHA and VA programs are subject to borrower qualification, lender approval and program requirements, and owner-occupancy rules apply. Consult a licensed lender, a tax professional and an attorney about your own situation.
Operated by DuCar Construction, LLC — Louisiana Residential License No. 883334, Commercial License No. 63084. 638 Papworth Ave., Suite C, Metairie, LA 70005. Equal Housing Opportunity.
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Straight answers. Numbers are current as of September 2026.
You buy a two-unit building, live in one side, and rent the other. The tenant's rent pays a large part of your mortgage, so your cost of living drops while you own an appreciating asset. With new construction you get it without inheriting someone else's roof, wiring or plumbing.
On our example — $372,000 total, FHA 3.5% down, 6% illustrative rate — the full payment with taxes and insurance is about $3,122. Rent from the other unit at $1,900 leaves roughly $1,222 a month out of your pocket. The full line-by-line breakdown is on this page.
Wind and storm exposure, and an old housing stock that insures poorly. Our own new-construction duplexes have been running $3,800 to $4,200 a year, because a new building carries current wind ratings. That gap is real money every month, and it is one of the strongest arguments for building rather than buying old stock.
Because the homestead exemption only covers the part you live in. Orleans Parish assesses residential property at 10% of the assessor market value and runs roughly 148 to 150 mills. On a $410,000 duplex that is $41,000 assessed; the homestead exemption knocks off $7,500 against your own side, leaving about $33,500 taxable, or roughly $415 a month. A single-family house at the same value would pay less, because the exemption covers the whole thing. It is the one line where a duplex costs you more than a house, and it is already inside the $3,122 payment on this page. Jefferson Parish — Metairie, Kenner, the Westbank — runs a lower millage than Orleans, so the same building costs less to carry there.
It depends on the lot. Where a lender requires it, budget about $133 to $175 a month — policies on our own buildings have been running $1,600 to $2,100 a year. Where it is not required, that comes off your payment entirely. We will tell you which situation a lot is in before you commit.
You underwrite for it. Keep reserves, screen properly, and remember your downside is the full payment, about $3,122 here, not a catastrophe — you are still living in the building. Vacancy and maintenance allowances are built into the investor calculator on our home page.
Yes, and with $0 down. A duplex qualifies as long as you occupy one unit. See our VA page for how entitlement works on a two-unit build.
Still have a question? Call (504) 407-3199 or book a free consult. Hablamos español.
Down Payment Help
Most assistance programs you will see advertised do not work on a two-unit new build. One does. Here is the honest breakdown.
On the $372,000 project, an FHA loan runs about $365,262 after the financed upfront MIP. Three to five percent of that is $10,958 to $18,263. Your 3.5% down payment is $13,020. The assistance can cover the whole thing.
Program terms and limits change. Confirm current figures with an LHC-participating lender before you count on them. Source: Louisiana Housing Corporation.