House Hacking Alternative Strategy Advice

[Andrew W Calhoun]

Greetings BP Community,

The good news - I'm sold on all the benefits of House Hacking and am going all in.  

The bad news - the medium-sized Southern city I am looking to purchase my house hack in has very limited options when it comes to multi-family homes.

Due to this constraint, I am looking to get creative. However, before I run with an idea I thought I'd pass it by this community to see if it's even a viable option. 

Initially, I was looking to purchase a multi-family home (a duplex, in-law suite, or converted garage) in the $200,000 - $250,000 price range. I plan to live in one side and rent out the other(s). Unfortunately, the available options in this city that meet this criteria are slim pickings. Then I had an idea to circumvent this problem: buy two separate properties for the price of one. 

My idea: instead of spending $200k - $250k on one multi-family home, what if I buy two homes (a combination of single family, apartment, townhouse, etc.) for $100k - $125k each. 

I see many positives to this. (1) There are nicer and far more homes available for this option within my budget. (2) The rental income from the second property should cover all of the PITI of that property and part of the PITI of the first property where I will live. (3) I'll have more separation and privacy from my tenant(s). (4) In a few years, I could potentially move out of the home I purchase as my main residence and rent out that property (and then repeat this process).

Are there any positives or negatives that I'm not thinking of with an arrangement like this? Hoping that this is a viable alternative strategy. 

Thanks,
Andrew