Question on Virginia, Richmond Area about Duplexes - Quads.

[Keineth Lawrence R. Perez]

Good day! Currently have a home in a decent location that I purchased last year with a VA loan around June 2022. To whoever is reading and has some knowledge on the matter, I am currently trying to look for a decent duplex to quad deal in the Richmond, VA area. (If any in churchill area.) Want to know if I should house hack this possible investment and rent out my primary residence now. I already forced appreciated and did some rehab to the house and currently has 3 bedrooms and 2 full baths. Location is good since its right in the middle of growth and by the highway. Good for travel nurses if they have contracts due to being in the center of three main hospitals around town. However, if I get a duplex, I need an honest opinion if it would be smart to just move in there and make tenants pay more of the expenses and mortgages? Thank you.

If any CPA, realtor, syndicator, lender, contractor are in the Richmond VA are, I would like to connect. Thank you!

[Brandon Spurlock]

Quote from @Keineth Lawrence R. Perez:

Good day! Currently have a home in a decent location that I purchased last year with a VA loan around June 2022. To whoever is reading and has some knowledge on the matter, I am currently trying to look for a decent duplex to quad deal in the Richmond, VA area. (If any in churchill area.) Want to know if I should house hack this possible investment and rent out my primary residence now. I already forced appreciated and did some rehab to the house and currently has 3 bedrooms and 2 full baths. Location is good since its right in the middle of growth and by the highway. Good for travel nurses if they have contracts due to being in the center of three main hospitals around town. However, if I get a duplex, I need an honest opinion if it would be smart to just move in there and make tenants pay more of the expenses and mortgages? Thank you.

If any CPA, realtor, syndicator, lender, contractor are in the Richmond VA are, I would like to connect. Thank you!

Hey Keineth, 

Good questions. I'm a full-time realtor and investor in Richmond Metro, and have helped multiple BP clients in Richmond buy house hack properties. 

Some immediate thoughts that come to mind. You used a VA loan for your current home. If you'd like to take advantage of the VA loan again, you'd likely need to refinance that home into a conventional loan. Since you've forced some appreciation, this may work out well for you. I'm assuming you'll need to wait until June 2023 to move out of that one to satisfy occupancy requirements.

Then, you should be able to use the VA (or an FHA) loan to purchase a duplex, as long as you plan to live in one side. I've got clients who are living in their duplex almost for free, because the rent from the tenants in the other side is almost completely covering the mortgage. With FHA, you can usually put down as little as 5% on a duplex.

If you'd like to connect with a local lender to get some concrete info on this, let me know - I'd be happy to connect you with some great guys. If you want to chat more, don't hesitate to reach out.