Using House Hacking BUT up till how far

[Karan More]

Hey Guys,

So here is my situation:
In 2020, I took a townhouse at very low interest rate as my 1st primary home. At that time I was new to real estate and paid 20% down payment for this one. 
After learning about real estate house hacking, I got idea of buying another SFH nearby by taking out HELOC and then rent out my townhouse.
But my agent told that, its best to get a duplex or triplex as new property and then later after 6-8months buy a SFH using house hacking. Because if I buy a SFH and then go for another using house hacking, I wont get lender to lend me money for my deal.
I don't want to try hard money route right now. 

My questions are:
Is that the best case for me? to go for duplex or triplex and then go for SFH.
After this, can I still house hack? Planning to do at most 4-5 so can have good cash flow. 

[Ryan Thomson]

@Karan More Ask your agent to better explain to you why he is pushing for the duplex first. He is incentivized to have your best interests in mind especially if you have communicated that you are a house hacker and want to buy more than one.

I have a handful of duplexes and single families in Colorado Springs. I would absolutely recommend using the FHA loan to get a duplex for 5% down first. But follow the ROI and talk with your agent about strategies. Sometimes the SFH strategy can produce a better ROI.

FHA will only give you one loan in a 50 mile radius. You could buy a SFH home with a conventional loan for 5% down and then get a duplex with the FHA loan for the second. But I bet the duplex numbers are better.