Househacking in NC - Camp Lejune

[Madeleine Austin]

Hello!

My husband and I are young adults preparing to buy our first home via the VA housing loan. We are both in the military and are (likely) going to be stationed at Camp Lejeune this fall. Our ideal situation is house-hacking a duplex. We have some questions!

- Is a real estate agent the way to go for first-time buyers on a time crunch? (we will not know where we are going [officially] until August and will likely have to move in September/early October. Also, due to our respective trainings, we may not be able to get out there for as long as we'd like beforehand)

- I have not been impressed with my initial, cursory look at available duplexes in the area. If the pickings don't seem great, should we suck it up or consider an alternate course of action? E.g., build an addition on a single-family home, consider buying another home at a secondary location, etc.

- Do you have any other advice/resources we could look at? Obviously, we have collected advice from BiggerPockets and other resources but we don't mind rereading! If you have something you think would help, please share! Thank you!

[Bradley Dosch]

That's awesome to hear you want to get started and super smart idea to use the VA loan! I think real estate agent is almost always the way to go for house hacking. Just find an agent who knows (and preferably does) house hacking, explain your goals/current situation, and keep them informed. You can create a game plan that is specific to your situation with this agent.

Duplexes can be tough to find in some markets. They're often highly sought over and thus, the price is dramatically increased. I personally look for SFHs with separate living areas/kitchens/entrances. This can be a challenge but they're usually more affordable than small multi family. I would set your criteria to be more numbers focused and not so much the type of property.

It sounds like you know what you're doing! Just keep learning as much as you can. Get in touch with a skilled agent and lender early on and they can help you out a ton with your specific situation!