Home or multi first?

Question

I'm coming into some money from my divorce. Even though I've owned my marital home, I still qualify for first time home buyers loans. I'm really torn if I should buy the home I'm renting BEFORE I buy a multi family rental income property or not. If I buy the home I'm living in, I can potentially put up some short term rentals on the property (air bnbs out back)... and have some extra Income that way. But it'll be a year before I can make another purchase AND I probably can't use an FHA loan to purchase a multi family later on. But same vise versa... if I buy a multi family to rent out, it'll be a year before I can buy my home I'm living in... and won't be able to use FHA loan. Lol 😆 does anyone have any insight for me?

Account Closed · Answer

I was thinking of putting up a teepee or yurt out back deep in the woods... with composting toilet etc for a glamping situation- there's not much like that around me. I haven't looked into regulations- I've only looked into insurance of that situation,  and it's def challenging. I should def look into the towns laws about that then! Thank you!

also, didn't think about air bnb with a multi family! Good idea! That'll make me open up my mind a bit more when looking for properties.

originally I was thinking buying multi family first and renting it all out. I dont really want to house hack because my current rent is insanely low... so I dont want to leave my current living situation.  But I'd love for the multi family to be completely rented out and make some money for managing the property myself. So maybe that's still the first step to make.

Brandon Rush · Answer

Hey Kaitlin,

Interesting situation you have here. When you say "potentially" do STRs at your current place, are you sure its allowed? I am an avid fan of multifamily house hacking, but see people doing very well who have a single family with an ADU or in law suite which they Air BNB. The only downside I see if if your town does not have regulations for Air BNB and they put a stop on it in the next couple of years. Then you are stuck with a single family liability.

Have you considered buying a multi, that you can house hack and Air BNB at the same time? This is the trifecta in my opinion: 1) You save on living expenses by house hacking 2) You make more income if you Air BNB out a unit instead of long term renting it 3)You can always go back to long term rentals if regulations kick in and do not allow Air BNBs.

In the end, there is no right or wrong here, it's really based on what's possible where you live.

Good luck and make sure to post back with updates on what you decide to do!