Life Events Prompting a Change in Plans

[Tim Crosby]

So, my wife and I bought our first duplex back in December of 2018. Took a while to find a descent place at a fair price, but we did it. It's nothing special, but the maintenance is low and the numbers work. With both sides rented, we can easily get $200 a month in cashflow. Again, nothing to brag about, but a solid purchase for our first rental home. We decided to house-hack with the FHA loan and understood at the time that we would have to stay there for at least one year. Well, my wife got pregnant while we were searching for homes and now we're both looking at everything and wondering if we should be looking for something more permanent for ourselves. The units are 2 bedroom, but only about 700sqft on either side. It's fine for now, but it's not ideal for the long term, yet here we are. The original plan was to buy 5 duplexes within 5 years and make a minimum of $1000 in cashflow before buying our house. Basically, using that money to pay for our home. We could still do that, but the closer this baby gets, the more I want to get settled faster. Am I worried too much about it? Do you think diverting from the plan will delay things? I'm talking to a lender on Friday, but would like some advice from those with more experience. What are my options here? Am I really stuck in this house for a year, or is there another way out I'm not seeing? Right now I'm projecting 6 months before I can start looking at houses again, but even if I have the money, what do I do about this FHA? Would it be wise to buy a more permanent home for the family and keep the rental as is? Or should I just stick it out and go as originally planned? I think the original plan is solid and easily obtainable, particularly considering I have a descent job and homes are fairly inexpensive in my area. What would you do? Are there other things I should be taking into consideration? Let me know what you think.