Getting Started with House Hacking in an Expensive Market

[Kazuki Tateishi]

Hello everyone!

I am new to this Bigger Pockets community, but I have been listening to the podcasts for a few months now. I am trying to get started with REI in Southern California, but I am having trouble on deciding on what my next step should be. So, I would love to get some input from you guys.

Little bit about myself. I am 23 years old making median income around $60K. My goal is to get my feet wet and invest in my first property within the next 1~2 years. I would also like to eliminate my rental expense as well. Hence, house hacking was the first idea that came into mind based off what I learned so far from the podcasts. I have good credit (>750) and will have around $40-50K saved up. The desired market that I am looking at the moment (North Long Beach) has multi-family properties that are in the price range of $700K~1.5M.

So, here is my problem. Although I would have enough for a down payment&closing costs through an FHA loan, with my income I would only qualify for around $300-400K loan according to an inquiry I made to a bank. So, even if I go for the lower end in my market (around $700K), I am still quite short. In a year or two, I think my salary will grow to about $70-80K, which is reasonably expected in my industry. However, I doubt that would make much of a difference. So, as of now my future is looking a bit grim at the moment for my REI endeavors if I am planning to stay in Southern California.

So my question is, what would be my ideal next step for house hacking in this expensive market? Based off of my knowledge I have so far, it seems like my choices are: 

1. Find a partner to invest with to increase my purchasing power. From my understanding, we would still be able to apply for an FHA loan even if my partner does not reside in the property as long as I do. Please correct me if I am wrong.
2. Find other non-conventional financing options. Since I am a newbie, I do not know too much about the creative financing options that are available. However, I do know that some smaller banks and portfolio lenders tend to be more flexible.
3. Wait it out until I have a higher salary.

Was wondering which one of the options is above would be the best given my current situation and goals. Also, are there any better options?

Any advice is much appreciated. Thanks in advance!!