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Just like living in an apartment, you can also rent or buy a duplex house to live in. The duplex house has complete complexes on each floor. Duplexes are a great investment property for house owners since they can live in a house with different entries either side by side, on the same floor, or on different floors. Living in a duplex whether you buy or rent has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Pros:

1. Affordable: Duplexes are less expensive and most of them are located in an affordable neighborhoods. They give you an inexpensive means of buying a house.

2. Privacy: Duplexes have large spaces with high-end specifications. The yards can be divided into two thus maintaining some privacy with the neighbor.

3. Get additional income: If you own the duplex, you can live in one area of the building and rent the other area of the building. If you took a mortgage to acquire the home, the rental money is used to pay off the mortgage.

4. Accommodate two families: Duplex gives you the opportunity to allow a family member to stay in one of the apartments. They will be able to stay close.

5. Lower insurance cover: If you live in one area and rent out the other then insurance cover is less costly since you can take an insurance policy for a single building instead of two single-family home insurance policies.

6. More space: They have more living space compared to apartments.
Some have yards, gardens, or even garages that can be shared among the residents.

7. More personal: In an apartment, the houses are lined up, and sometimes feels like you borrowing the building but living in a duplex with your own yard makes you feel like you own the space.

8. Freedom: Living in a complex gives you the freedom to customize the house by painting, planting flowers, or gardening in the yard making you feel like it’s yours.

9. Washer/dryer: There is the possibility of having your own washer or drier in the duplex complex as compared to apartments that have a shared laundry space.

10. Alternative location: Duplex complexes are located in towns, suburb areas, and other areas in the country. This makes it easy to live in a duplex within the location of your choice.

Cons:

1. Maintenance Responsibility: The maintenance, repair and any other expenses of the duplex complex is the responsibility of the owner/landlord and this can take some time before the repairs are done.

2. No guarantee of income: There is no guarantee you will get a permanent tenant to stay with you in the duplex.

3. Getting the right tenant: Sharing your duplex with another family can result in some disputes and affect your privacy issues. It is also difficult to get a tenant you can easily relate with.

4. Noise: Duplex houses have common walls and if not well insulated, it results in noise from the units.

5. Lawn care: It is your responsibility to tend to the lawn or any snow in the yard. This requires the dedication of your own personal time or hiring someone to do the work for you.

6. Create inconvenience: If the home-owner lived in the other part of the complex, they may make you feel uncomfortable and have no personal space because they may have the altitude that the entire complex is their own.

7. Bad tenants: Living next to bad tenants brings a new dimension of problems and disrupts your environment as the duplex owner.

8. Limited options: Duplex complexes are not easy to find in city centers. This forces you to look for some in suburban areas.     

9. Bad neighborhood: If you don’t do prior research on the location before acquiring the duplex you can end up disappointed with the surrounding neighborhood.

10. Increased rental income: Sometimes the investors can increase the rental income for the tenants.