Rent main house and stay in guest house. Confusing questions?(TX)

[Blake Sherrill]

I can't find much on this particular situation, so no one may really know. 

The wife and I have been heavily contemplating the idea of moving out of our house into my guest house on the property and renting the main house. We have 5 acres out in the country. I want to make sure I am covering my bases with what I need to do beforehand.

I have a VA Loan, so I do believe that I am going to have to refinance so that I can rent it out. Correct? (This whole, I am still living on the property is where it gets confusing) Should I treat this like a duplex property? Its not really attached to one another though.

Can I still claim homestead exemptions? I read that if you rent out rooms, you can still claim it. How would this work under my situation? 

The main loop hole that I keep thinking of, is that the guest house was here when I bought it. And I don't believe that my loan ever really clarified that there were 2 houses on the property. Can I use this to my advantage or would that be just asking for trouble?

[Marian Smith]

I bought a rental and it had been rented out while financed under a VA loan. I believe, just as in traditional and FHA loans, the owner occupant on a VA loan is only required to obtain the loan and not for the life of a loan. You would have to refinance if you wanted to rent your house and buy a new house under the VA program. There is a one loan limit.