New investor in Virginia Beach area

[Account Closed]

Hi, my wife and I are looking to start our real estate investment journey in the near future (6 months). We've been doing lots of research and we decided that the best way for us to start would be by purchasing a duplex and renting one side out and living in the other side. However, as we've been searching, we've come to realize that duplexes are really hard to come across (we currently live in Virginia Beach,VA). So my question is, what are other ways to begin investing in real estate? Should we consider purchasing a home and then house hacking a room or two? What other options do we have available?

[Patti Robertson]

Hi Tony.  Virginia Beach as a city is tough because 1) there are very few duplexes here and 2) those we do have are priced sky high in relation to the rent you get.  Have you considered Norfolk as an alternative?  There are many more multis in general and you get a better investment to rent ratio, although multis are at an all time high in all our cities right now. I would encourage you to join the non-profit, volunteer run investor clubs - Tidewater Real Estate Investors Group and the Hampton Roads Landlord Assoc.  BP won't let us post websites but they are both easy to find with a google search.