What's more economical: multifamily vs. single family + outside rental

[Scott K.]

My family and I have owned a 2-family home since 2016 where we've always rented the 2nd unit. It's been very helpful with our mortgage payment.

We're looking to move, and I'd love to find a similar multifamily property. My wife is more open to purchasing a single-family home instead where we keep our current home and rent both units. So we're looking at two scenarios:

Scenario 1: sell existing home. Buy multifamily home. Single mortgage payment, single rental unit. Two units to maintain.

Scenario 2: keep existing home. Buy single family home. Two mortgage payments, two rental units. Three units to maintain.

Although I need to do the math, scenario 1 strikes me as more economical as there are shared costs gained with a multifamily property. Scenario 2 is technically not house hacking, right?

Has anyone else experienced a similar situation?