Does an FHA/House Hack Make Sense in My Situation?

[Austin McNichol]

Hello,

I am in my mid-twenties with a full time job that pays pretty well. Right now, I live at home with my parents in Central NJ. They are great and do not charge me rent or anything, so I am able to save and invest my income (right now all is going to stocks/mutual funds). I inherited a property close by that would not make an ideal rental based on the numbers, so I am in the midst of minor renovations and will sell it. So that is most of my real estate experience so far.

That said, I was looking heavily into investing primarily in Northern NJ, NYC, Philly, or even Florida (all areas I frequent for my job). I liked the FHA loan combined with the house hacking strategy to be able to purchase a property with less down, but I am starting to reconsider utilizing this strategy since I enjoy where I live and would like to avoid PMI.

So if you were in my situation with zero living expenses, would I be better off skipping a house hack and putting the normal 20-25% down in a fully occupied property since I have it laying around? Of course I'd pay below market value and probably could make some renovations. I prefer to be an active investor and will manage it myself. My end goal are larger commercial properties and I have a mentor somewhat in that arena. Thank you.