First Property: House hack or MFR?

[Brock Salgado]

I'm currently in the Army and looking to start out real estate investing near Fort Lewis-McChord in Washington. I've focused in on the Tacoma market and plan on using my VA loan to purchase a home for house-hacking while I am there, but I am not opposed to other opportunities or strategies. House hacking would be ideal for me, but I only have 1, maybe 2 buddies that don't already have leases signed… I feel like this is pushing me towards purchasing an MFR, but there are very few available in the area and many of these are out of my budget. I'll either need to find some other Soldiers that are willing to live together or somehow increase my budget in order to get an MFR. What would y'all recommend when deciding between house-hacking and MFR for my first property?