New Member Introduction/First time home buyer

[Manriki Gagnon]

Hello BP! This is my first post, however I have been lurking around for a while. I don't have any real estate properties (my school doesn't actually allow us to own property while we're here) however I've been doing a lot of research, reading books, and listening to as many BP podcasts as I can (450+ is a lot to catchup on). I've been researching different markets in Washington DC/Northern Virginia and determined that I want to invest in the Woodbridge, VA area.

I would like to stay under $300k, so I am looking for Townhouse style condos and small single family homes. I am preferably looking for a place with a basement because I want to house-hack and live in the basement while renting the top floors out to a tenant(s) to cover a majority, if not all the mortgage. I am okay with no cash flow in the first year while because I'm going to be living in part of the house, however after I move out I would like to be cash flowing.

I am planning on using a VA Loan to finance the purchase with no down payment, so the mortgage payment will be kind of expensive. Since I am a first time home-buyer, I am also planning on using the Virginia Housing grant to pay for part of the closing costs.

I have a few questions regarding my current plan. 

How hard is it to find a tenant that would be willing to rent out the top half of a property when I am house hacking the basement? What are people's experiences with renting out rooms to multiple tenants? Is it worth looking for duplexes or triplexes?

If I am breaking even for the first year of owning a rental property, would I be able to increase the rent on the current tenant to include the cost of the new opened area of the house, or would it be better to find a new tenant? I don't want this to come across as unethical, I would make sure the tenant understood what I am trying to do before they signed a rental agreement. 

Other than the no/low down payment and lack of PMI, are there any other benefits to the VA loan versus conventional loans? Are there any drawbacks?

Thanks for all the help, I am excited to be part of the BP community and start my real estate journey!