Alexandria, VA is a great spot for house hacking!

Tenants in many markets already believe they pay too much (contrary to recent studies that show rent to property values have never been lower for the large US cities).If my insurance costs are not double my current rates over the next couple years, I will be pleasantly surprised.  

I think house hacking with a VA is still well worth it. 

Refinancing will change your mortgage rate, and if it’s worse than your current rate, it’s not worth it unless you’re getting a great deal.

As it relates to habitation exposures, it appears that there may be a leveling off in premiums, rates, and deductibles here recently, but there's so many different variables that it's really hard to make a blanket prediction for 2025 (or the future). 

Investigate moving the lot line to put the house entirely on 1 property.

At the same time depreciation recapture is taxed at regular tax rates, not capital gain rate.

There are quite a number of things that can make utilizing an FHA loan more difficult such as more barriers during appraisal, appearance of low qualification/little cash, typically longer closing period, likely higher interest rate, and PMI cannot be dropped without a refinance if 3.5% down.That said, just chain 5% down conventional loans, and make sure your duplexes pay for themselves.  

Currently we are seeing STR owners posting for sale due to reduction in prices they can get per night and the vacancy rate increasing. 

The higher rates and no point options hopefully are temporary for you until you are able to show a 2 year history of 1099 income, refinance early in 2026 once you have completed your 2025 returns.