House Hacking: Is it stupid to put a large downpayment?

[William Huston]

Hello All, 

I currently own 5 rentals, but i am having difficulties getting financing on another "investment" property after speaking to multiple banks, they seem ok with giving me a loan for primary residence, because i can use VA benefits, but most are just refusing to give me another loan for investing..

So i have been contemplating doing house hacking and purchasing another property that is larger, so i can have extra space to rent a room or 2 out to try out house hacking to further my investing in real estate. I have enough to put about 50-60% down on a larger house, but i feel like it goes against everything i have learned about in real estate investing.. but my alternate thought is the money i have is just sitting making very little interest, so why not put it to work and reduce the amount i would have to pay every month, possibly making a single roommate cover the entire cost for me to live there or net a little in cash flow and try to pay it off in an accelerated manner. 

Also another situation i may do is place it in an LLC, up till now all my properties are in my name and not in an LLC, these were bought prior to me furthering my education on real estate investing, so thinking i could start the ball rolling placing this one in an LLC and in a year or so possibly moving out of it and turning it into a rental and have it properly in an LLC.