First Property. House hacking vs. Long Distance BRRRR

[Christopher Tile]

I currently live in Long Island, NY. I'm a 21-year-old accountant, actively building on my real estate knowledge + saving for my first property. With home prices on Long Island being extremely high (Nassau County), I wanted to get some advice from the BiggerPockets community on the most likely strategies for locking down my first property - House hacking a multi-family on an FHA loan vs. investing out of state (BRRRR)

I understand investing out of state for my first property might be very difficult and confusing, but I'm confident with proper education and preparation, it could be done (especially with a partner/mentor). On the other hand, a small multi-family house hack is definitely more realistic. I'm sure this topic has been discussed previously, but I wanted to start an active post so I can reply with more questions. 

Please feel free to ask me more questions about my background/intentions, as I'm looking for completely transparent/honest advice. 

Here's to my first post on BiggerPockets, and many more to come!

[Christopher Tile]

@Grace Wang Thank you so much for your quick response! I have the privilege of living with my parents. I live in the basement of the house and pay no rent (no rush to leave either).

I agree with your comments on house hacking. I''d probably wind up paying rent by house hacking on long island (with a significant discount thanks to tenants). For my first deal, I'd much rather pay a 3.5% down payment, but If I get to find a great deal out of state that will leave me with cash flow, I have no problem putting down the money and recycling my principle with a refi after a year. Wouldn't OOS be the better option here then? 

I guess there really is no definite right answer. Advantages and disadvantages to both.