I am in my mid 20s and have saved up around 200 - 300k and currently reside in Brooklyn. 

I think you have to be careful what you buy, but keep your options open. 

Plan your down payment carefully, factoring in closing costs and potential renovations.

@Rob SchouIf you can prove that this is your primary residence, a HELOC achievable. 

However your situation becomes a trickier case study since these properties first served as your primary residence which could provide additional benefits form a tax perspective not available to an owner of investment real estate and nobody has a crystal ball and knows the property with certainty will transition into an investment property. 

I currently live in DC but am actively looking to purchase a single-family house in northern Virginia as a primary residence that can potentially be used for house hacking and/or a live-in flip.

Short term works best in vacation towns with few residents.

If they have other property (outside of a primary residence) then it could work out but you have zero equity protection and going in 2nd behind hard money provides all sorts of risks and issues, even if they allowed you to.

Or are you trying to buy the property as an owner occupied primary residence while living in another state? 

Furthermore, be careful what you ask for.