Need Advice for Starting Out!

[Richard Lopez]

Hello everyone, 

I am an newbie real estate investor based in San Juan, Puerto Rico. My wife and I torn as to how we should start our real estate journey. We are currently living in a rental and want to purchase a property in the next few months. We have around $15,000 saved up for a down payment. I'm thinking we'll have to go with an FHA loan to start. We are currently torn as to purchasing a single family or a multi family. My wife likes the stability that a SFH provides, while I really love the potential cash flow that a multi family can provide. What would you recommend we do? Thanks in advance!

[Roberto Torres]

@Richard Lopez As @Mike Dorneman suggests, I would go for a house hack. This is different from buying a single family house because you will live with your tenants BUT you will make money from day one. If you buy a single family house with FHA, you will need to wait a year before making any money because you have to be owner occupied as suggested by @Hai Loc  and then go buy another property if you have the money and time for it. House hack is great to get started in real estate but it's not for everybody, especially if you want privacy and space from your tenants. I'm going to do a house hack right now but using Airbnb to rent 3 individual rooms and a garage unit. Being airbnb vs long-term rental, me and my girlfriend are in more control and comfortable living there since we will split house in two. Hope this helps!