Need opinion on my plan, plus any advice you can offer

Jason Guaschino · 2025-09-03T08:37:09-07:00

I live and work in LA and currently pay $2750/month in rent. I have $80k saved up and want to buy a fourplex and live in it so I can stop renting. I have my VA home loan as well. I make a bit over 200k/yr. My plan is for me and a friend to go in on one together, I’d own 75% and he’d own 25%. We would put 5% down. The ones I’m looking at are between $1M-$1.5M and most have 4 2br/1bath units. In the area I’m looking I could probably rent them out for $2500-$3000/each. My friend would live in one unit (his 25%) and id live in one unit. Rough estimates put total monthly cost around $9k/month. So each unit would need to pay $2250 to cover it, that’s how much me and my friend will pay, and the $500/month Id be saving on not renting anymore along with the extra rent I bring in from the tenants will all go in a fund to cover emergencies/vacancy/etc (I’d start that fund with $40k put to the side initially) looking for your opinions, and for context my friend is also my business partner in a business I also own majority ownership, so this wouldn’t be our first contract we’ve written up together, plus my majority ownership makes me feel a safer. Oh and I’m not leaving CA, I have a career here.

Rick Albert

Real Estate Agent · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2018 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes

1y

Hey Jason,

Glad you want to get into house hacking. That's how I got started.

Regarding buying a fourplex, it looks like in order to get what you want, it would likely need to be 100% vacant, which is challenging in Los Angeles. Rarely do I see 4 plexes on the market where two are vacant and the other two are either also vacant or at market rents. Many have tenants in place. But I have seen ones 100% vacant. Just wanted to give context.

If you go the VA route (thank you for your service), both of you need to be Veterans. Just FYI.

To be honest, why have him with 25% equity and you 75%? Why not just own it 100%? Partnerships can be a lot of work. The MFU market is struggling so you may be able to negotiate your closing costs to be paid by the Seller so you don't necessarily need him to buy it. The only caveat is having money for repairs. If you do go the business partner route, you really need to lay out at least two things:

1. Who is responsible for what? With my business partner, I'm in charge of filling units and managing the buying and selling. He is in charge of back end accounting and operations.

2. Do you have the same philosophy on how to run the business? Before I got into business with my partner, we ran through scenarios that we have experienced in our own investing and talked through how we would handle it. For example, how do you handle rent increases? How do you handle repairs? Band-aids or full replacements? If you have different ways of handling situations, you can get into arguments down the road. I've seen it happen.

Good luck!

2 Reply

Jason Guaschino
OP
Member since 2022 · 2 posts · 2 votes
1y
Quote from @Rick Albert:

Hey Jason,
Glad you want to get into house hacking. That's how I got started.
Regarding buying a fourplex, it looks like in order to get what you want, it would likely need to be 100% vacant, which is challenging in Los Angeles. Rarely do I see 4 plexes on the market where two are vacant and the other two are either also vacant or at market rents. Many have tenants in place. But I have seen ones 100% vacant. Just wanted to give context.
If you go the VA route (thank you for your service), both of you need to be Veterans. Just FYI.
To be honest, why have him with 25% equity and you 75%? Why not just own it 100%? Partnerships can be a lot of work. The MFU market is struggling so you may be able to negotiate your closing costs to be paid by the Seller so you don't necessarily need him to buy it. The only caveat is having money for repairs. If you do go the business partner route, you really need to lay out at least two things:
1. Who is responsible for what? With my business partner, I'm in charge of filling units and managing the buying and selling. He is in charge of back end accounting and operations.
2. Do you have the same philosophy on how to run the business? Before I got into business with my partner, we ran through scenarios that we have experienced in our own investing and talked through how we would handle it. For example, how do you handle rent increases? How do you handle repairs? Band-aids or full replacements? If you have different ways of handling situations, you can get into arguments down the road. I've seen it happen.
Good luck!

Hi thanks for the reply! So I read you can use the Va loan with a civilian, but you will still be responsible for the civilians portion of the down payment. This is why we are putting 5% down to cover his 25% of the 20% down payment.
One of the biggest reasons I'm using a partner is to qualify for the loan, since with the VA loan you can't use future rental income as a way to qualify if you're a first time landlord.
On top of that it’ll definitely help lower initial costs. He only wants to be responsible for his unit, the one he lives in, I will own the other 3 units and live in one.
0 Reply

Joel BongcoBusiness Member

Investor · Honolulu HI & Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2018 · 369 posts · 176 votes

1y

@Jason Guaschino

Aloha Jason,

I really like the direction you're going with this. Using your VA loan on a fourplex is a solid move—especially with your income and savings. You're already ahead of the game by thinking about reserves and penciling out how the numbers will work. Most first-time investors don't go that far. A couple of thoughts from my side:

Real-world numbers - I’ve got a few multifamily units myself that I’ll eventually be selling. Happy to share how the numbers actually shake out—things like maintenance, repairs, and LA’s tenant laws can add up, so it’s always good to stress-test your assumptions with a real example.

Partnership setup - Since you and your buddy already do business together, you know how important it is to get things in writing. I can connect you with legal resources to make sure your agreement covers ownership split, responsibilities, and what happens if either of you wants out. Plus, with LAHD and RSO rules, it’s worth having everything structured right from the start.

Long-term outlook- Since you’re committed to staying in LA, this is a great way to build equity while locking in your housing costs. The rents in your area sound solid, and appreciation over time is going to be in your favor. Overall, I think you’re on the right track. If you want, I can walk you through some real numbers from my properties so you can see how it pencils in with actual expenses.

Mahalo,
Joel

[email protected]808-427-2444

Inspired Life Investments LLC.

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1 Reply

Kyle HendricksPro Member

Lender · Member since 2021 · 170 posts · 74 votes

1y

A lot to unpack here. Love the househacking plan and love the VA loan. Let me know if you have any lending questions. I do quite a bit of househacks.

I agree with @Rick Albert on finding fully vacant 4 plexes being tough. Are you married to a 4plex? What would be the long term plan? How long would you want to occupy / would you plan on holding this after moving out as strictly a rental?

[email protected]253-355-0247

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William ThompsonBusiness Member

Accountant · Williamstown, NJ · Member since 2025 · 320 posts · 176 votes

1y

Strong plan—you're leveraging the VA loan smartly while house hacking in one of the toughest markets. A couple things I'd flag:

1. With a partnership, make sure the ownership split and responsibilities are crystal clear in writing, even if you’re friends.
2. Run your numbers with property taxes, insurance, and reserves baked in at LA levels—they creep up fast.
3. On the tax side, you’ll have both personal-use and rental-use units in the same property, which affects deductions and depreciation. That’s where good structuring pays off.

Overall, you’re setting yourself up to build equity instead of paying rent—I’d just encourage you to map out both the cash flow and after-tax impact before pulling the trigger.

[email protected]609-820-0891

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Basit SiddiqiBusiness Member

Accountant · New York, NY · Member since 2015 · 8k+ posts · 3k+ votes

1y

Keep it simple

if you have the money, have the down payment, why partner with someone else? It just makes things more complicated.

[email protected]917-280-8544

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Ryan SpathBusiness Member

Real Estate Agent · Boise, ID · Member since 2017 · 557 posts · 376 votes

1y

That's a solid plan you've laid out, and you're in a strong position with $80k saved, solid income, and the VA loan at your disposal. House hacking a fourplex in LA with your friend could be a great way to stop throwing money at rent and start building long-term wealth.

A few thoughts as you move forward:

VA Loan Advantage – Being able to put as little as 0% down with no PMI is a huge benefit. Just double-check with your lender how joint ownership with your friend will work under VA guidelines, since technically only the veteran can use VA financing. Sometimes the lender will structure it in your name and handle his equity/ownership on a side agreement. Worth clarifying early.
Reserves – I like that you’re already planning to seed an emergency/vacancy fund with $40k and contribute the extra savings each month. That kind of discipline is what keeps house hacks from turning into stress.
Partnership – Since you and your friend are already business partners, you know how each other operates under contracts, which is a huge plus. I’d still recommend getting a clear operating agreement for the property (how decisions are made, how capital calls work, exit strategies, etc.), but you’re ahead of most by having that foundation already.
Numbers Check – On the surface, $9k in expenses vs. ~$10k–$12k gross rents looks promising. Just make sure you’re factoring in maintenance, capital reserves, and management time. Even if you’re self-managing, those costs are real.
Long-Term Play – If you buy right and hold, rents in LA historically have strong appreciation. That makes the numbers better year after year while your mortgage stays fixed.

Overall, you're thinking like an investor and setting yourself up well. If I were in your shoes, I'd keep underwriting deals until you find the one that pencils best and lock it in while you've got the VA eligibility

[email protected]208-600-2814

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Ken M.
Investor · Get yourself trained before doing something inadvisable. · Member since 2024 · 3k+ posts · 1k+ votes
1y
Quote from @Ryan Spath:
That's a solid plan you've laid out, and you're in a strong position with $80k saved, solid income, and the VA loan at your disposal. House hacking a fourplex in LA with your friend could be a great way to stop throwing money at rent and start building long-term wealth.

A few thoughts as you move forward:

VA Loan Advantage – Being able to put as little as 0% down with no PMI is a huge benefit. Just double-check with your lender how joint ownership with your friend will work under VA guidelines, since technically only the veteran can use VA financing. Sometimes the lender will structure it in your name and handle his equity/ownership on a side agreement. Worth clarifying early.

Reserves – I like that you’re already planning to seed an emergency/vacancy fund with $40k and contribute the extra savings each month. That kind of discipline is what keeps house hacks from turning into stress.

Partnership – Since you and your friend are already business partners, you know how each other operates under contracts, which is a huge plus. I’d still recommend getting a clear operating agreement for the property (how decisions are made, how capital calls work, exit strategies, etc.), but you’re ahead of most by having that foundation already.

Numbers Check – On the surface, $9k in expenses vs. ~$10k–$12k gross rents looks promising. Just make sure you’re factoring in maintenance, capital reserves, and management time. Even if you’re self-managing, those costs are real.

Long-Term Play – If you buy right and hold, rents in LA historically have strong appreciation. That makes the numbers better year after year while your mortgage stays fixed.

Overall, you're thinking like an investor and setting yourself up well. If I were in your shoes, I'd keep underwriting deals until you find the one that pencils best and lock it in while you've got the VA eligibility
Your comment: "VA Loan Advantage – Being able to put as little as 0% down with no PMI is a huge benefit."

Just curious, since I'm told there is an up front fee to initiate a VA loan, what does that look like for a dollar amount?
0 Reply

Matt F.

Rental Property Investor · St. Louis, MO · Member since 2019 · 162 posts · 72 votes

1y

Hey Jason, I would strongly advise against buying a property with a friend that you intend to live in. I've been doing this for a while, and this type of thing never ends well, and ultimately it is unnecessary. Keep going until you can buy a property independently, it may take longer, but you will end up saving yourself quite a bit of a headache in the long run, and you will come out ahead financially too.

0 Reply

Bill B.

Investor · Las Vegas, NV · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 10k+ votes

1y

What if those 2 other units don't pay for 6 months to a year while you try to evict them? Can you comfortably cover 75% of the mortage and expenses? You don’t want your friend to lose his housing because of your vacancies.

What if he wants to sell. Or you want to sell? What if one of you can’t afford their portion of a new roof or hvac system? Drives drunk and gets sued for their portion of the property? Gets married or divorced?

I would 100% prefer you buy the whole thing. If you can’t afford that even with a loan from your partner instead of selling them 25%. Then I’d go 50/50. That way it’s obvious how much is due for every repair and expense. And if one unit is empty you both only have to come up with an extra $1,250 instead of you being out $2,500. Or $5,000 if they both go empty or stop paying. .

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Need opinion on my plan, plus any advice you can offer

Need opinion on my plan, plus any advice you can offer

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