Learning to buy a multi-family property as a renter

[Mike Schelske]

Hello everyone,

I have only ever rented apartments and now that I am older I find its time to buy property. Since I have VA loan option and I decided the house hack approach is the best option for me. Before I landed on multi-family property I assumed that single family homes were the only way to go for home ownership. But as I used AI to research and read through Reddit posts trying to find the best place to buy a home, I realized that with cost of living rising and the middle class supposedly disappearing that I need to expand my knowledge of property ownership. I learned that I can use my VA loan to buy up to a 4-plex and live in one unit, seems straight forward enough. This seems like the best way to deal with rising costs and giving me a place to live at the same time. Where I get lost is figuring out the numbers and how much it actually costs monthly for the mortgage. Theres PITI plus maintenance, vacancy, capex, utilities, landscaping, turnover, legal and accounting. As I understand it property management companies handles most of this but I am also a experienced equipment mechanic so I figure why not just do all the work myself and as I buy more properties I add a management company later on. What I really find exciting are the future properties I'll end up owning.

[Denise Supplee]

Absolutely @Mike Schelske, just make sure not to only look at the mortgage payment, include PITI, repairs, vacancy, capex, utilities, and turnover. Even if you can do the work yourself, still budget like you may need to pay someone.