this is only a good idea if you have reason to believe that the area will be appreciating quickly, which is called speculation and akin to gambling not investing. me personally, I would rather put my money on black than bank on market appreciation. negative cash flow rentals are a time suck and money suck.

Private mortgage insurance i believe is not charged on va loans.  

I believe Noah set you up right on that post!

And, in my opinion, more importantly, the lurkers who never comment, now believe they have the "golden key" of information.As you already know, there is so much more to this, in order to stay out of trouble over the long term. 

I believe if something happens and the tenant only has it in their name I am unable to get the proceeds because the check will be written to them. 

You can probably just go ahead and live in that 5th unit, but I believe whenever you go to refinance it with a bank or what not, the 5th unit will make it require a commercial loan and not residential regardless of what the county records show the property to be. 

Yeah the law changed I believe back in 2020.You cannot do short term rental with an HPR unless you own both sides.   

Believe what you will.

Done multifamily, SFR, STRs... and finally found the niche that I love the most and believe has the most potential for decades to come.

That is your competition.I believe my recommendation will prove accurate.