Househacking Multi-family Home with VA Loan in NYC

[Paul J Perez]

I live in NYC and I'm looking to house hack my first multi-family home with a 0% VA Loan this year. I'm not sure if it's feasible in NYC and would appreciate any advice and suggestions from others that were in a similar situation.

I'm currently renting a 2BR for $2000. Out of curiousity I applied for and was pre-approved for a $400K $0 Down VA Loan, though I can probably get more (the current NYC limit is $726k). I'm just worried about taking out such a large loan and having a huge mortgage payment. My income is $150k and I have approx. $40k in liquid assets. After taxes, child support and maxing out 401k contributions I bring home $5250 per month.

I've been looking on [realtor.com](https://realtor.com) and [zillow.com](https://zillow.com) and I'm running into a few problems. In Nassau County, homes close to my price range have huge tax expenses, so I wouldn't be cash flowing. Homes in Brooklyn/Queens/Bronx close to my price range are usually listed as short-sales and may not meet the VA's Minimum Property Requirements, so going for a fixer-upper may not be possible.

So unless I can figure out how to find a multi-family home with low taxes and in decent condition, it doesn't seem like house-hacking will be an option for me and I'll need to go with a traditional loan. I can't move to another market because I need to be close to my kids' school and work.

Does anyone have any suggestions for me on whether I'm on the right path and on finding leads?

Also, I ran a BRRRR Calculator on a property but I'm pretty sure I did it wrong. Here's the link if anyone would like to help me figure out what I entered incorrectly.