Considering getting a 2nd property (multiplex in Oregon, where my brother lives at)

[Manuel Llanas]

Hello all, new to BP and have been hooked for over a week. So I’m considering getting a 2nd property.

I make a little over 50k per year, with a credit score of over 700 and I have a VA disability benefit. My brother makes over 70k per year, but his credit score is around 600ish. I have my first property (townhouse: 2 bed 1.5 bath, HOA) that I got back in March of 2020, just before covid hit. $175,000, 3.25% APR (thanks to VA loan), currently have a bit over $50k in equity if I pull it out. I have about $6k in my savings and my brother has a little over $2k. I can save up to $1.3k per month. Unsure of my brother but I'm guessing he can save more.

I currently am in debt by almost $55k, almost $27k in student loan, $11k in credit card, and $18k in a trailer that I had to buy for an emergency (dad’s place he was renting caught fire).

My local loan officer said I would be able to get a loan up to $450k, if I rent my current home out and the property, I’m going for is a duplex+. This was almost a year ago and my credit score is a bit higher than before. I will eventually rent out my current home. But it is one of many options I’m trying to come up with.

I am currently interested in getting a multiplex at/around Sweet Home, OR (Portland, OR is an option as well). This specific location is where my brother lives at and he will be the handyman/property manager. I will be stuck in California for a good chunk of this. If I can go with this plan.

Is it a bad idea to try to get a multiplex property, if I'm going to be the one to finance it? If I go the equity route, which might have a higher APR. I would have to pay that off as my brother manages and makes the payments for the property. Is this something worth trying? If both my brother and I can use up to 3.3k per month for the mortgage, as we work on upgrading it. Should we aim for properties that might be higher priced? I am currently using my VA benefits for my current property, a war buddy of mine, says I can transfer this to another property. But my loan officer says otherwise. Would this be an option if I can transfer my VA benefits (mortgage currently is at 158k/175k, he mentioned something about having anything left over from the VA loan)?

Any advise is appreciative, thanks for taking your time to reading and answering this.