First move in my REI adventure

[Brian Ricard]

I wish I would have learned more about REI before I bought my current which is a 5br 3ba. I would have house hacked out the gate if I could go back in time. So here is my dilemma, I am a veteran so with a few moves I could possibly use a VA loan to purchase duplex and house hack. I have about 80k in equity in my current home. Do I refi my current house and rent it out while house hacking in the duplex or sell the house and put some money down and use some to start working on the next property? My main concern is finding tenants for my 5br 3ba with it being my first rental and if it is harder to rent a larger SFH. Any advice would be awesome I am super excited because this is also my first post on BP.

[John Walter]

Welcome @Brian Ricard and thank you for your service. I am also using my VA loan to get started. My best advice is to figure out what your goals are first, and then go from there. For example, I knew I wanted to buy a multi family property, close to family and work so I could house hack. That gave me my neighborhood where I would be happy, and the investment came second. That's strictly because I am house hacking. It's a different story for a pure investment.

Since you have a 5-bedroom, I’m assuming you have a family. More comes into play such as schools, their happiness and preferences, and living situation (roommates, duplexes, etc). My point is, just be sure to figure out what works out best for you and your family, then look at the numbers. 

I imagine $80k goes a lot further in WI than my market, so you certainly have options. Let me know your main goals, then we can talk strategy.