Investment egg - 1st House Hack + 2nd property?
I had a bumper crop year during the pandemic with my online retail business and have 130K to invest as a first time home buyer. Online spending went crazy over the past year, I easily made triple what I had in years past, so theres no guarantees the future will bring the same/can't expect that for future ventures.
Wanting to make the most of this egg and put it all into some serious real estate cash flow. I'm in Portland, Oregon, home prices are soaring.
I'm really struggling with how much to put down/what kind of setup to go with. All 3 scenarios, when I number it out, I seem to only break even, no cash flow. Early stages of loan applications, decent credit (655).
20% on one house - house hack duplex or 3BR+ where I rent out all the rooms. Realistically expecting to pay 350K-400K, which is a bargain here. I would break even on the mortgage/tax/insurance. (and not have to pay mortgage ins) Any repairs would be from other income.
OR
5-10% on 2 houses, living in one. Adding up comp rents, still only covers additional monthly mortgage payment + mortgage insurance. Maybe a hair extra
OR
5-10% on house hack triplex/quad. Same - Adding up comp rents, still only covers additional monthly mortgage payment + mortgage insurance. Maybe a hair extra
A lot of what I read implies my numbers are off or I'm not finding good enough deals. Somewhere in here it seems like I should be able to setup a better cash flow. Should I wait till the market calms and get house #2 then? I don't want to wait on #1 and keep pouring money into renting.
Quite honestly, I'm a little uneasy about NOT paying 20% down. 5-10% means a lot to be on the hook for if any problems arise, non-paying renter, big repairs. A big part of this uneasiness is that I haven't had my hands on this much money before and want to be very smart with it.
Not looking for a cheerleader per-say, but more seeking advice on things I might be missing/alternatives I should explore. I have considered just buying one house hack duplex, then buying a 2nd house when the market is more stable, possibly in out of town in a less expensive area investing in an Airbnb vehicle.