Beginner Investor in Norfolk Virginia. Please help!

[Cesar Ramirez-Fajardo]

Hello all! I'm active duty military moving to Virginia around May next year (2021). I have no experience in real estate investing. I would like to start with house hacking but any advice would be great! Should I look into turnkey duplex or SFH and rent out the rooms? Or should I buy a fixer upper and flip it? I'm am trying to learn the market in this area as I am stationed out of country at this time.

Any advice on where to start would be helpful! Thank you all for your time. 

Very Respectfully,

Cesar Ramirez-Fajardo

[Bobby Njoo]

Hey Cesar,

I am also an investor and active duty member currently in that area. Currently the market is pretty hot here and we did not see a dramatic impact on the housing market during the beginning of the pandemic, so I think it is safe to assume by May of next year, it is still going to be pretty hot. So just a heads up for planning purposes maybe you can take advantage of the winter season (usually known for the "slower" season of real estate) to, maybe if possible, shop around early in advance and hope for less competition. 

Personally, I started with an outdated SFH that I was able to to renovated slowly between underway and deployments and currently living there and renting it out by the room that covers the mortgage. But my partner he started out with the duplex, rented out the other units, and renting out the other room on the unit he is living in now. Both options are great options because you can still house hack either ways but i think the factor of personal preference that you need to consider are the area and share living space.

Small multifamily properties are most likely located in more dense neighborhood that may have narrow streets, no driveways, and busier part of town. But of course that is not always the case. Also, small multifamily listing are not as many as SFH listing so the competition may be a little higher. But the good thing is you can have your own living space if you want by just renting out the other unit.

Since you have more option with SFH, you have more option on the location. But unfortunately, you have to share a living space, which can be challenging if you have a spouse and kids.

In my personal opinion, it does not matter if you decide multi or SFH as long as the numbers work! Take into account if you have to PCS out of the area in the future, is your rent going to cover the mortgage ON TOP of property management fees, regular maintenance, reserves for vacancy and big ticket items that you have to replace over time (capital expenditures). These factors will determine if you made a great investment or not.

I hope this helps and good luck!