Alternative options to house hacking

[Account Closed]

Hi, my wife and I are looking to start our real estate investment journey in the near future (6 months). We've been doing lots of research and we decided that the best way for us to start would be by purchasing a duplex and renting one side out and living in the other side. However, as we've been searching, we've come to realize that duplexes are really hard to come across (we currently live in Virginia Beach,VA). So my question is, what are other ways to begin investing in real estate? Should we consider purchasing a home and then house hacking a room or two? What other options do we have available?

Thank you in advance!

[Taylor L.]

There are SO many other options. Too many. Your first step should be to REALLY narrow down your goals. What do you want to get out of this and when?

Next, what do you have at your disposal? What are you willing to give up, risk, or sacrifice to achieve those goals? 

If I were you I'd go to some local REIAs and other networking events. Learn about the business down there.

I started by looking for duplexes in Richmond to house hack. Once I figured out my actual goals, I realized that strategy doesn't work for my goals, so I moved to much larger multifamily investments, both active and passive.