Time to make a move while im young

[Jake Henrion]

Hello everyone,

I have been reading on this site for about a month now and soaking in the information.

Little background to start: Im 22 years old, licensed plumber working full time as well as running my own plumbing cash business on the side. I decided I wanted more out of my future than one source of income running my own business so I came across REI. Currently still saving money living with the parents but got the 1-2 year warning as in (time to get lost and find my own place)

I have been going back and forth on my decision to buy a multifamily or SFH as my first property. Seems like multifamily is the way to go BUT, I have decided to do a USDA loan for a SFH and was hoping for some advice to steer me in the right direction or to tell me Im doing it all wrong.

My plan is to buy a small SFH in a neighborhood that I could walk to the beach for around 180-250k. In my area (Plymouth, Ma) there are tons of properties in such areas. I personally dont care about the beach but as a future investment when I move out I would like to keep the property as a rental because of its location. With my income I could still save money while living in this home for a few years and I understand that the rental wouldnt work if the mortgage was too high so id have to look for a killer deal. After I save up enough money my plan is to FHA in to a duplex and house hack.

I dont know if im planning this backwards or what but as of right now there are very limited MFH's to purchase even close to my area for what i can afford and the USDA has no wait list as of right now.

The pressure is on!

Any advice would be appreciated!