First Time Homebuyer, Live in or Rent all out

[Luke Arcovio]

Hey guys,

So I live in the beautiful and expensive Suffolk county area of Massachusetts (boston) and looking at the REI opportunities available to me. I am strictly interested in the MF units of at least 3+ units as they seem to hold the best potential for a positive NOI on a yearly basis. I run specific numbers for each listing to see if it would qualify for what I am looking for. A lot of the units don't simply because of the rental rates and the property taxes/mortgage expenses that I would need to cover for each month, not including expenses. Some investments would only trickle 6k cashflow and wouldn't be worth the time and energy to put into it. This is also if I rent all the units and don't live in them.

Since I essentially am looking for the best opportunity available, I see myself using an FHA loan and find a place to cover those interest and insurance I will have to pay on top of the mortgage itself and property taxes. However, if I choose not to live in the MF unit, and just rent out everything, what are the pros and cons of that? Would I be able to claim the entire property as a tax deductible business expense (appreciation, interest payments, tax payments made for the house itself, etc.). I just want to know as much as I can about this kind of investment from those who may have experienced this before. I really don't see/know the benefits of house hacking if I can just rent out the entire thing and live somewhere else for free (living out of my parents home, for example, but right now I rent) for a couple years.

Any info will be helpful and if I am being too broad, I apologize, I am still new to this (only been researching this stuff for 2 weeks now) and constantly absorbing what I can.

Thanks