Buying in/near Boulder, CO with a VA Loan

[Sean Murphy]

Looking for some advice: I'll be changing duty stations this summer and will be working out of Boulder, Colorado. Fantastic place to live but home prices are something that I have never experienced before. I have been waiting for an opportunity to use my VA loan through my military service to capitalize on purchasing a property that I could either house-hack out of with a multi-family or buy a single-family and either convert it to a multi later on or just rent it out as a SFH when I get orders to move again.

Buying a home in Boulder proper seems unrealistic right now based on home prices. My max VA loan that I will qualify for as I understand it will be $626,750 in Boulder County. I'm looking at surrounding areas and towns for better priced options, but was wondering if anyone had experience with real estate in this area, handling tenant/landlord laws, overall experience of renting to University students, and anything else that would be of value. I'm assuming that my experience with property taxes, county taxes, utilities, etc will be much different in this area than from what I've experienced in the Midwest.

I appreciate any advice or opinions. Thanks for your time. 

Sean