First time home buyer Vancouver/Oregon area (House Hacking)

[Jason Stewart]

Hi all, first post here on the forums, I've listened to and read a few books on real estate investing, and the one thing that interested me most was House Hacking, it makes a lot of sense for me and my partner. 

I deploy overseas 300 days out of the year so I only have a few months home. My girlfriend and I however are ready to purchase, shes agreed to take care of the land lording side of things.

I am here to ask what sort of strategies we can use to make sure we will get a good deal on a home and perhaps help out some people with similar situations with this posting. 

I see our first house as being firstly for an investment and secondly as a permanent residence. If there is any tips or resources you can give on making sure we can be cash flow positive, finding and dealing with tenants, townhomes vs duplexes vs multifamily homes, securing more profit when its time to sell etc. That would be really helpful.

Right now we are looking at the 270-300k range, I have excellent credit and can afford a down payment up to 50k. I also plan on purchasing another more permanent home with my VA benefit in 2 years time so this first house will likely be converted to purely a rental unit so I want to make sure it will be good for that outcome.

Thanks a ton for your time !

-Jason