Beautiful Virgin Islands

Wednesday, Oct 08, 2025

What Is A Duplex And Is It Right For You

What Is A Duplex And Is It Right For You

You’ve probably heard the word duplex thrown around, but what comes to mind when you think of it? A movie? Annoying neighbors? A small apartment building? Everyone has a different picture in their mind.

So let’s get some things straight and clear up the meaning of duplex once and for all.

What Is A Duplex?

A duplex is simply a home with two separate living spaces. The home is usually an older building that was once one home but was large enough to accommodate two homes. Thus, it was turned into two separate homes that are still attached.

Each home in a duplex has a separate entrance and there aren’t usually ways to walk through each other’s living space. There may be a utility room that connects them, but this is similar to an apartment entrance.

Each area also has its own bathroom, kitchen, and bedrooms. It offers privacy to both tenants and gives them a better price than if they were renting alone. It works a lot like an apartment, rather than a house.

Can I Live In Both Duplex Floors?

Yes, you can live on both floors of a duplex. However, if you choose to do this, you may notice that people no longer call it a duplex. They will generally refer to it as a single-family home since a duplex houses two families.

Even if there are two entrances, two kitchens, and two living spaces, that’s not what makes it a duplex. What makes it a duplex is that there are two families living in it. So, when you live in both areas, it’s simply a former duplex.

Can A Duplex Be Renovated?

This depends on if you want to renovate a duplex you own or one that you rent. Let’s go over each type of renovation and what you need to know before you consider taking out a wall or putting down hardwood floors.

Renovating Your Duplex As An Owner


A duplex can be renovated to accommodate one larger family. If there isn’t a stairway inside, one is added. The second kitchen and living room are usually converted to bedrooms or family rooms. One of the entrances is even often removed or turned into a backdoor.

Renovating Your Duplex As A Renter


If you want to renovate the space you live in, the rules are the same as if you lived in an apartment. You talk to your landlord about any changes you want to make and she can approve them or reject them.

Oftentimes, this is all laid out in the initial contract. You agree that you will pay a certain amount and you are told what is allowed. Sometimes, small changes are allowed, like paint color. Other times, you can do whatever you want.

What Is The Difference In A Duplex And Other Town Homes?

Many people confuse other types of homes with duplexes. But each of these homes has a unique name for a reason. For example, a country home is always in the country not in the city. But that one is obvious. What about when the difference isn’t obvious?

Condos


A condo is like an apartment and duplex fusion. It is usually sold to the resident. So there can be multiple owners within the same condo whereas all renters in an apartment are renting under a landlord.

Shared areas are also more common in a condo than a duplex. In a duplex, you should have your own yard and there won’t be a courtyard or anything. Duplex renters prefer as much privacy as possible.

Townhouse


Not all townhouses are duplexes but some duplexes are townhouses. A townhouse is simply a house that is surrounded by other houses on two sides. They are conjoined but owned by separate individuals.

Since townhouses are often tall, they are easily converted into duplexes. Many duplexes are townhouses that are rented out to two families. One family lives on top while the other lives on the ground floor.

Apartment


An apartment is the most common type of residence found in cities. This is because they can place hundreds of living areas in just one complex. A duplex only has two living areas, so it is not an apartment.

An apartment is built in a complex and can be owned by an individual or a company. Both of these usually hire a staff to help out with the apartment whereas a duplex owner is usually an individual who does things primarily by themself.

Is A Duplex Right For You?

That all depends on what you want out of a home. It also depends on whether you are considering buying a duplex building or if you are looking for a home to rent. After all, buying is a much bigger decision than renting.

Buying A Duplex


If you want to buy a duplex, think about whether you want to live in one area or rent out both areas. If you want to live in one of the areas, know that you may be the landlord, but you’ll still have a neighbor.

This neighbor will have to follow your rules, which can be great. However, if you rent out both areas, you will get double the pay for rent, returning your investment to you twofold. You may break even if you simply live in one of the areas.

Living In A Duplex


If you want to buy a duplex, remember that you will have a close neighbor. Yes, a neighbor in the same house, in a way. They may not disturb you, but most people in duplexes won’t try to avoid disturbing you like people in apartments.

When you have your own entrance, your own yard, and your own “house” you start thinking differently. That said, living in a duplex can save a ton of money and let you feel like you have your own house.

How Much Does A Duplex Cost?

Like any other home, duplex prices greatly vary. But before we get into that, you need to decide if you want to buy a duplex or if you want to rent a duplex. Renting a duplex only saves money if you rent one half of it.

Duplex Cost To Buy


Duplexes cost about the same as any other house or townhouse. If you are renting out both areas, you can make your money back fairly quickly. The nicer the duplex, the more you pay, but the more you can charge as well.

Expect to pay anywhere from $50,000 to $500,000 on an average duplex. This is not likely to be lower, but if you have more to invest, you can get an even nicer home that will return the favor quite quickly.

Duplex Cost To Rent


The average amount that landlords charge tenants is about 1% of the market value. So if they pay $100,000 for the building, then tenants will pay about $1000/mo. This price varies, but this is a rule of thumb.

That said, most landlords let their tenants split the cost so that each family is only paying $500/mo. This will get renters in your duplex quickly as the payments are much lower than renting a home.

Appealing To Renters

If your plan is to buy a duplex and rent it out to two renters, there are a few things you should know.

Workforce Housing


Workforce housing is a wonderful way to appeal to a unique demographic. This type of housing should be affordable to the median household income families in the area. This is teachers, construction workers, and others like them.

This type of housing should be close to businesses but offer enough privacy to satisfy the worker’s family. Workforce housing isn’t employees living together, it’s an affordable way for families in the workforce to live comfortably.

They often rent these homes because they only want to live in the area temporarily. Especially when the worker is in a profession like the oil field or


Triple Net (NNN)


Here’s another term that may come in handy. It’s called NNN. You can actually rent out your home to someone and have them be solely responsible for all expenses while you are still the owner. They simply live in the house.

Because they are responsible for expenses, they can act as a property manager, leaving you with nothing but passive income. Everything is under contract to so there is little to no risk in using a NNN investment.

How To Find A Duplex To Rent

Finding a duplex to rent is just like finding an apartment to rent. The only problem is that apartments tend to take up all of the space in search results if you don’t know how to search properly. It’s important to weed out results you don’t want.

One of the best ways to find duplexes instead of apartments is to search for multi-family homes. You can try searching duplexes, but this doesn’t always work, so having a backup keyword is awesome.

You can also hire a realtor to help you find a duplex to rent. Many landlords keep close contact with realtors so they always know when there are openings even if they’re not on the market or in any search results yet.

If you’re looking for resources, then look no further, because here are all of the best places to find homes to rent online. Duplexes included! Just add “duplex” or “multi-family” home to your filters. Many of them have them already preset for you.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×