Investment Property Before Primary Residence

[Erik Heldt]

Hello BP People! I know that this topic has been beat to death already and that the general consensus is to house hack before buying, however, my situation is a little unique and I would appreciate some input from the community.

I have a new job with as an airline pilot and my schedule is 2 weeks on, 2 weeks off and I can live anywhere in the US. During my off time I will be picking up additional overtime flights as well so I am rarely ever home with travel. My parents offered let me have a room at their house to keep my things and to stay at when I'm in town for free. This effectively means that I don't need a primary residence at least for the next few years and my living expenses are practically 0. In the cities that I would like to live in, the prices are pretty high and most house hacks would be difficult to come close to cash flowing even with all units tenant occupied if I use my 0% down VA Loan. Even after moving out after the mandatory primary residence requirement. With that said, my plan would be to continue getting as much overtime as I can at work, living with my parents in the few days that I'm off work, and investing in rentals in lower cost, higher cash flowing markets. After building up a comfortable portfolio with decent cash flow, I could use the VA Loan to buy a house hack in an area that I like, even if the cash flow isn't great.

I would love to hear you guys' thoughts on this and truly appreciate any feedback. 

[Nicholas L.]

@Erik Heldt

I'll just be blunt.

"investing in rentals in lower cost, higher cash flowing markets. After building up a comfortable portfolio with decent cash flow"...

that is a process that takes years... 5 or 10 or 20 years.  the cash flow from any rentals is just not going to be meaningful at all in the first few years.  

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/12/topics/1171104-the-m...

so... house hack now.  that is investing.  and remember that a house hack isn't supposed to cash flow.  it's just repurposing your housing payment.