Vet Quest for 1st investment (house hack) 2, 3 or 4plex - JOURNAL

[Herson Caraballo]

Hi there BP friends,

My name is Herson, my wife and I are Iraq war veterans. Our goal is to someday soon be financially free, maybe own a couple rental properties.

We don't know much about real estate other than what I've read and researched in Bigger Pockets podcast/books (waiting for delivery).

I want to share the journey of our first rental property. We would greatly appreciate any advice and knowledge you guys can provide.

Current Situation:

Living in DMV (DC,Maryland,Virginia) area, both working 9-5's, Renting a $2,000/month apartment. We have around $700 disposable income after all expenses paid and $20k in 401k, excellent credit.

Have a couple questions: 

1. Can I use a VA loan to purchase or build a multi family property for house hacking? if so, is this a good idea?

2. How about a construction to permanent loan? So little info on the web about this... Is this doable?

3. Being so expensive here in DMV, would you guys recommend to invest here? or is it a better idea to do it in TX where I have family interested in investing?

Side note:

I might be relocating for work to Houston,TX; where I have 2 brother in laws that are interested in investing with me. One of them is a residential painting contractor and the other one is a home building contractor.

Also, how could I arrange a deal (proposition) so my brother in laws and I can do this together? 

That's it for now. I have been postponing this thread for too long. I am so excited to start my endeavor and to hear and learn from you guys.

Thank you BP friends.

God Bless,

Herson

[Cassidy Burns]

Hey @Herson Caraballo welcome to BP!  Here are my insights on the above questions:

1.) VA loan can be used to purchase a multi family up to 4 units. Now you will have loan limits for the VA loan making it hard in DC to get those 3-4 units but a single family or 2 unit is very doable. You can also explore the condo option to help get yourself from paying that $2,000/ monthly rent, allow yourself to start building equity, and learning how to "own" a property.

2.) You can use the 203k loan if you are looking to do renovations prior to closing and rolling those costs into the loan amount. This is a 3.5% down FHA loan.

3.) I do suggest investing in Washington DC. And I personally believe the house hacking and primary residence purchases are the best possible ROI builders in DC.

Good luck!