"Adult" house hacking tips in NoVA, any tips?

[Neil Quinn]

I realize it's a pretty brutal market, so just looking for any other ideas for neighborhoods/tips that might help me in this situation.

Currently renting and looking to buy, but would like to avoid a direct roommate situation if possible - more like separate unit / basement with entrance / etc. Also ideally looking for metro access, but that of course adds more cost.

For staying closer in, I think this mostly means Del Ray, Old Town, or further out Falls Church or Huntington.
Possibly open to DC, though I would prefer to stay in VA for better landlord rights I think.

With interest rates > 5%, I'm seeing most modest townhomes in Del Ray end up with roughly $4k mortgage payments, and a basement might rent for $1200-$1300 if done nicely. This inventory is also really hard to find, and many basements are incredibly small and may not even be rentable that way. Open to using AirBNB for a converted space as well.

I'm not looking to head way out to springfield or super far south just because I'd like to maintain some kind of social life.

Anything else you'd target? If you were me would you:

1. Suck it up and just go for the higher payment in Del Ray/Old town where income might only cover 1/3  of mortgage unless I add another live-in roommate but get the better location/appreciation. These places would also be top of budget for me and I can barely swing them now on my income, but could be a good hold long term.

2. Just give up the socialness and do a cheaper area like Huntington or Falls Church. I'm not sure if I'd have a better chance there.

3. Give up metros entirely and find a SFH that I can get cheaper. My fear here though is that it might be a lot harder to find tenants if I don't have metro access, or the rent would be considerably lower.

4. Just give up on house hacking entirely in the DC area and buy a condo or something, and invest in remote real estate in more affordable areas.

Budget ~ $800k @ 5% right now / $4k-ish payment, maybe some flexiblity right now, but depends on how badly rates rise. Of course if the house hack situation allows for more rental income (i.e. 2 rental units/etc) then I'd be open to a slightly higher budget. I do have a good amount of capital I could use for down payment.

Feeling very desperate/frustated/screwed right now with these interest rate increases.