Multi House Hack vs. Single Family Home

[Zach Sullivan]

Hello everyone this is my first post and I am new to the BP community. In a few months my girlfriend and I want to buy our first home and we wanted to buy a multi family unit and do a house hack. After talking to some friends they asked why I wouldn't just buy a SFH and rent out the rooms and/or basement while I lived there since the multi market is dry in Maryland and I could build my portfolio with single family homes instead. Both seem to give you: -Land-lording experience to help qualify for future loans -Residential mortgage rate and down payment -Renters paying expenses What are the main differences in the strategy if it's a multi or SFH?