New to Real Estate — House Hacking Questions

[Kaden Wingert]

Hi everyone,

I recently graduated from college this past May, and I’m currently living in Iowa. I’m very interested in getting started in real estate investing and have been spending a lot of time learning through BiggerPockets.

Right now, I've been thinking about house hacking and potentially purchasing a small multifamily property (most likely a duplex or triplex) using an FHA loan to get in with as low a down payment as possible. From your experience, is this generally the best route for a first property, or does it make more sense to put 20% down if you're able to swing it?

One thing I'm unsure about is timing. I'm planning to relocate within my current company to a different state in about a year, so I wasn't planning on making any purchasing decisions until then. However, this made me wonder about how long you should intend to stay in a property you purchase before moving and/or selling it. For an FHA loan, I know I have to intend to live in the property for at least a year, but what would be the rule of thumb for how long you should plan on being in the area to do house hacking? 5-7 years? Does a 30-year mortgage usually require you to stay put a little longer to receive a better return, since you would be paying a higher percentage on interest rather than principal, as opposed to a 15-year?

I’d love to learn from people who have already gone through this — whether that’s house hacking, buying your first deal, or navigating a move shortly after purchasing. I’m very open to mentorship and learning from others’ experiences, so any advice or lessons learned would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!