Less than a year out from buying Duplex - Chicago

[Cameron Burnett]

Hi all, 

First time posting but long time lurker! I am seeking advice today as i am less than a year out from hopefully purchasing my first investment - a duplex upon which i plan to househack. Just looking for guidance on first steps i should take based on my current financial situation.

Currently i have, 

50K invested in the stock market that i don't mind putting towards renovation of property

7.5k in a High Yields Savings

and a growing 401k (just graduated college and got my first job and putting 10%)

I make 94k pretax per year

800+ Credit Score

and have 0 debt.

I plan on financing using the VA Home Loan as i am a veteran and due to my disability of 70% i receive massive perks in the Illinois when buying property. My lease at my current apartment ends in july of 2021 and i am hoping to purchase a duplex / triplex upon which my girlfriend and I would house hack.

I suppose i have two pressing questions

1.Any advice on when i should start contacting real estate agents, financing officers, or doing property tours? Thanks ahead of time for all the help. 

2. Do people often time use stocks as a liquid way to repair properties? I am wondering if it is best if i start putting more in my HYSA or keep investing in the market. I know its risky because i dont know if there will be a downturn next year when i plan on buying but i also dont want to miss out on growth returns that are far superior to the low interst rates even HYSA's are getting now adays.

P.S. if this is the wrong area for this question, my apologies. 

[John Warren]

@Cameron Burnett you sound like you are positioning yourself very well to house hack! The VA loan is an incredible loan in and of itself, and you will have a lot more luck living "for free" if you can use that disability status to get rid of the RE taxes!

I think the main thing is to establish WHY you want to house hack. For instance, if you are trying to build a huge portfolio of 2-4 units that have cash flow, it can be pretty hard using the house hacking strategy. If you are looking to reduce/eliminate your cost of living then house hacking can help a lot. Essentially, it is one way to save a lot more of your money. 

The other thing to consider is where you are at in life. I always wanted to house hack, but by the time my wife and I got started we had children. It became impossible to house hack, so we pivoted to doing live in flips. 

If I were you, I would start reaching out to great lenders to get that part of the conversation started. If you need a referral I can send you the one who has done all of my loans for me. I also would start thinking about which neighborhoods make sense and start getting to know the numbers in the neighborhoods.