Physician loan vs. VA loan

[Matt Toeneboehn]

Hey everyone,

I'm an active duty, military physician and have an upcoming move in JUL2022. I'm tired of paying rent and hope to house-hack and continue to invest in rentals in the future. I'm married, have 3 kids, and a dog and think we will need a 3 bed/1-2 bath to feel comfortable as our live-in unit.  Currently interested in finding a duplex/triplex.  More than likely we will only be living at that location for 1-2 yrs max before moving but I plan to hold onto the property and continue to rent it out. We have excellent credit, no debt and approximately $25,000 to put towards a down-payment if necessary with additional reserves. I should be able to utilize physician as well as VA loans for a low down-payment.  My long term vision is to repeat this process of buying a duplex/triplex every move to obtain a significant passive income from multi-family properties, which would allow me to cut back on hours (I love my job and don't want to quit!) and possibly work part-time so I can spend more time with family. 

Would you recommend I use the VA or physician loan on my rapidly approaching move? If it makes a difference, in JUL2022 I will be moving to a relatively affordable location and in JUN2023 I will likely be moving to a relatively expensive location (i.e. California/DC).

Thanks for your help!