Top Thoughts on House Hacking a 4plex in/around NOVA

[Joseph Kelly]

Greetings to BP,

I am planning on buying a four-plex in the next 6-9 months, living in one unit and renting the others out to start down the road towards financial independence. I haven't started actively hunting for deals yet, although I am communicating with my RE agent regarding multifamily properties in my county and the surrounding counties.

Location: Front Royal, VA, although I'm looking at the greater area as well; Financials: ~$11,000 available to invest; REI/tenant Experience = no hands-on experience, ongoing reading of BP books/forums/podcasts/blog posts, etc.

Top questions at the moment are:

1) What are the top considerations regarding house hacking, especially in an expensive market such as in/around NOVA, that a new investor such as myself probably won't have considered?

2) What constitutes a good buy-and-hold rental deal in an expensive market? If I'm buying for cashflow, does the upfront price of the property matter as much as it would (up to a point) if I were hunting for BRRRR deals or rehabs?

3) What are the top questions I should be asking as I begin to pursue my first deal?

Thanks in advance for any answers or insight that anyone has; I appreciate any and all information/comments/critiques. If I need to provide more details to solicit more exact answers, just let me know.

Joseph