This leaves me $700/mo (plus $200/mo in reserves) to pay myself, which seems high for a “house hack”.Hindsight being 20/20, I may have bought out of my price range.

Goal here is to use the VA's 0% down on a multiplex and rent out the unit I'm living in after 12m.
The mental gymnastics I'm going through is how exactly that would work without committing fraud.
Can I refinance m...

If I were you and you need to meet the requirement of working under a Broker, just make sure your agreement with the broker allows you to take all your properties with you once you leave, obtain your brokers license and start your own brokerageI would also start looking at software systems and joining the National Association of Residential Property Managers.

My girlfriend and I are looking to get into Multifamily real estate investing and have looked into the possibility of house hacking, although a good property for it seems to be tough but not impossible in this area.  

Are you in an area where land is very valuable leaving you with less to depreciate?

With the upswing in the country's short-term and mid-term rental markets, a unique opportunity is presenting itself to house hackers during a time when it's harder to cash flow than it was a few years ago.

Thanks for reading - and if you leave a response we appreciate that as well

We’d have a regularish house, a few acres (maybe more), gardens, alpacas, chickens. 

Just leaving it sit without any investment use might not be enough to establish your intent in an audit. 

You don't want to lose your rate on the house you are living in now unless you want to sell it so since that is an owner-occupied, you need to stay there and save up the 20 percent for the second property based on what you said.