From our experience (PA) and that of our colleagues around the country- the general consensus for a modular to be considered "real estate" and not personal property it must :-Be a double wide home minimum-Be permanently affixed to a foundation.

Begin with this foundational step, and the rest will naturally align.

It's all about laying a solid foundation, learning as much as you can from this community, and continuing to expand and enhance your knowledge all while taking action!

There are numerous books, podcasts, and online resources available to help you become a more knowledgeable investor.By following these steps and staying disciplined in your approach, you can successfully house hack using your VA loan and build a solid foundation for your real estate investment portfolio.

We also put the foundation to build an ADU, but aren't sure if we should keep putting money into this house or get back to living by the beach.

Keep in mind that building a successful REI business takes time and a strong foundation.

we have until spring of 2025 until our balloon loan either has to be refinanced or paid off (we got this loan because we intended to build, of course) and now i feel like it's a ticking time bomb.we conducted "clean and satisfactory" (no issues whatsoever to build) soil and foundation tests and provided those to every buyer. it seemed (not quite sure here) like they backed out once they reviewed the tests - yet there is nothing negative in them. we will not be providing these tests moving forward (as we had to do them ourselves and feel that each buyer should do their due diligence moving forward!)

One of the best things about real estate in my view is that you don't really need a lot of "technical" knowledge like other industries - you can just use your experience interacting with RE day to day to have a good foundation.  

Usually if the college has a foundation, they will have a director that is in charge of housing for students and they can be a great resource for landlords who are allocating some units for students like you may be.

Once you have this team in place, you should have the foundation to invest in any market confidently while not being there physically.