My First House-Hack with a VA LOAN!

[Kenneth McKeown]

I've been on Biggerpockets for about 10 months now and I can finally announce that  I've completed my first investment deal! A lot has changed in the past year (I've got my real estate license and have moved which caused my first purchase to be delayed) but it's all worked out for the best. I'll provide details below and I would love to hear what people think in terms of the "numbers"

Duplex in East Plano, TX

3/2 BA 1500sq ft each side

285k purchase (was OFF MARKET so I didn't end up in a bidding war, thankfully!!)

Turn key - although I put about 3,000 into some minor cosmetic updates - mainly replaced an old sliding door with french doors to the backyard

Purchased using my VA loan at 3.75%

One side is currently rented at 1400/mo until February and the house around the corner just rented for 1600 (3/2 1500 sq ft too).

Other side I'm living in with my own bathroom while two roommates upstairs are paying 600/mo + splitting utilities.

At closing I actually got a check back for roughly 1200 after earnest money was $2,000 so I got into the property for $800 plus my cosmetic fixing costs.

Current rent as we stand is 2400 and mortgage is 1796... I got over 50 emails on craigslist for the two rooms upstairs at 600/ea so I know that I could get a little more there - and the rent on the other side can definitely be increased over time. What I'm hoping to do or what my goal is, is to lease individual rooms on both sides to college students (it's close to a community college nearby and college as well) and maximize my return. I'm living with two people currently and when I move out I plan to rent out the master bedroom (with it's own personal bath) for even more than, lets say $650 (getting $600 now) for the two rooms upstairs that share a bathroom. Ultimately I know I can get at least $1800-2000 a side if I lease out the rooms individually or I can get $1600 a side if I just rent out the entire side. I would love to hear anyone's thoughts on renting out individual rooms versus the entire one side of a duplex.

In the end I'm currently taking home 2600/mo with an 1800 mortgage all while living free (I was paying 1100/mo for rent previously!) and when I moved out I'm looking to potentially take home $3200-$4000 a month. I've been awfully active on the forums here and have learned so much in the past 10 months. I'm hoping to continue to do this process with my VA loan and am excited for whats to come! Any feedback/comments are greatly appreciated!