The housing market never ceases to surprise us. December marked a big moment: for the first time since mid-2022, home prices increased year-over-year in all 50 of the largest U.S. metro areas. Yep, every single one.
...

While I can imagine some cities might be against "boarding houses" or enforce their "brothel law" I can't imagine too many cities would be supportive of it. 

I bought my own house on a lease option.

Pay the higher to use the bigger houses give you a piece of mind .

Your realtor will be able to give you a much more detailed market specific answer but with house hacking and a VA loan it should be possible to get 0 out of pocket.

As population grows, housing demand increases, driving rents higher.Rapid and Sustained Appreciation: Not all cities with growing populations appreciate rapidly.

Also, I am assuming since you house hacked that you only did 5% down, which then increases your mortgage payments compared to 25% down buyers.

So if you buy a 5 bedroom house and rent the spare 4 bedrooms = you can still sell tax-free under the 121 (you just pay back depreciation) If you buy a duplex and rent 1/2 and live in 1/2.

Keep the current investment and buy another house hack to live in.

Are the tenants paying market rents?