Advice on 1st MF House Hack in high priced market

[Patrick Senas]

Hello BP community,

My wife and I just got married this year and are looking to find our first multi-family rental in San Diego. The plan is to house hack it and use my VA loan to fund the deal. Our big goal is to get a primary residence loan every year to build a portfolio locally. We got pre-approved and I am going through the MLS listing to find our 1st deal.

From the BP podcast, videos and books I get the basics on analyzing a generic deal. But Im still lost on how to determine if the property is a good deal. What CoC should I be targeting? What year should I target to be in the black as far as cash flow? Are these even the right metrics that I should be focused on in an appreciation market?

Any advice would be much appreciated. Or if a video exists where someone does go through the breakdown of their house hack in a high priced area that would be even better! 

Thanks and I look forward to discussing this more with you pros.