VA loan for first househack. How bout deal #2?

[Houston Quintanilla]

Greetings fellow BP members!

I’m 25, new to the financial independence community, and excited I found BP. After 3 months of study and research, I have chosen my initial RE investment strategy. Constructive criticism is welcome.

I will use my VA home loan to househack a small multi-family (2-4 units) or single family (3-4 bedrooms). The cash flow and location will dictate this decision. This will be a distressed property with a mortgage I can comfortably afford with my own income. I will use the cash I have saved to rehab it, significantly raising the ARV. I intend to live in this property for at least a year before purchasing my next. At this point, I could use some advice. What financing do you recommend for this second househack? 1) Use the remainder of my VA loan (up to $400k), 2) conventional 20% down, 3) low money down owner-occupied loan, or any others I am missing? Please explain your recommendation.

For clarity, I’m using the buy and hold strategy to work up to $3900/month of passive income from RE. I enjoy my career and intend to stay in it until retirement at around 55 yrs old. 

Thanks to all who contribute!

Houston