First investment property, need guidance.

[Tallal Ibad]

We are a married couple looking to buy a house on VA loan at my spouse's next duty station. We are approved for up to 400K on one income and up to 750K on dual income. Normal single family houses are going over 30K of the asking price and it is getting tough to find a desirable location and home under $350. Area we are looking at is Tacoma WA.

Goal:
Find a house/multi-unit near a military base, live in it/manage it (do basic renovations), until the next move  upon which we put it up for rent to other military families. Hire a property manager. Rinse and Repeat.

Option A: Buy a single family and do the above (3Br and 2 Bath)
or
Option B: Buy a 4 unit Multiplex, live in one unit and rent out the rest. (2Br and 1 Bath each). Rent out the 4th unit when we leave 

Financial Situation:
We can afford $4000K/month towards PITI, while living frugally until we find tenants. This should be enough to cover a 4 unit building initially. We are also looking for close to turn-key property.

Challenges:
Good luck getting a VA appraisal to match the asking price for a 4-plex 

What do you guys suggest? Are we trying to bite more than we can chew? Can we make this happen? I would like to charge between 1300-1500/unit each month on a 4-plex no more than $750K

Background:
I own a home in MD and have tenants ready to move in. Cash flow will be 200-300/month. 
No other debt. 

Thank you. 

[Michael Haas]

Hey @Tallal Ibad - although we're huge fans of SFH's with ADU's and those properties make up over half of our portfolio, I'd strongly consider 3 and 4 unit multifamily homes with your $750,000 pre-approval as well. With a loan that size you have lots of options, especially as you venture outside of Tacoma proper and consider outlying areas.

Larger units (2-3 beds, as opposed to 1 bed) tend to have a little stronger cashflow in our experience, but having a nice unit mix (some 1 bed, some 2, some 3) in a triplex or fourplex can also be convenient for you while living in it and open up options for good tenants to "trade up" within the building rather than move out when their needs change. 

The VA loan continues to have a lot of misinformation and misconceptions around it, so educating listing agents and sellers about the real differences between VA and Conventional is always a priority when offering as well.

Best of luck! Although we live in Seattle now, we spent 4 years in Tacoma and still invest down there. Feel free to hit me up anytime for a coffee or phone call if you'd like to chat more.