The simplest, safest starting route for youBased on what you wrote, here’s the highest-probability path:✔️ Step 1: House hack a duplex or small multiLive in one unit, rent the other.Lower rent, start building equity, get your first landlord reps.✔️ Step 2: Choose a property that needs light-to-medium workUse your construction exposure to add value cheaply.This gives you:A lower purchase priceForced appreciationA better long-term rentalExperience managing a renovation✔️ Step 3: Build momentum, then look at flips laterOnce you’ve built equity + cash reserves + skills, you can start branching out.5.

Can you put returns low on some walls and route them back to your utility room?

Conventional loans typically require much higher down payments on multifamily.Because you’re W-2 but also receive per diem, the key is finding a lender who knows how to document that income correctly.

House hacking lets you live in the property, have tenants help pay your mortgage, gain hands-on landlord experience, and even write off a portion of expenses like mortgage interest, repairs, and utilities.Using your VA loan is definitely a good route as it lets you get in with almost no upfront cost (which is awesome), and if you go the live-in flip route, you may qualify for the Section 121 exclusion, meaning up to $500K of gain can be tax-free if you’re married and live there long enough.

Many parts of the country are experiencing a correction.

Hard money might be the more predictable route for bridging the gap.When you make an extra $60,000 for each creative financing deal, instead of losing $10,000 in fees for Hard Money for each deal, well If you can't do the math . . . 

Have not utilized this route before but greatly considering it.

Clean books make it easier for your tax pro to categorize expenses correctly, track depreciation, and avoid missed deductions.

Because I have kids, having roommates in my own unit isn’t an option, so I’m planning to live in one unit and rent out the others (or possibly buy out-of-state if that ends up being the better route). 

I even spoke to a company owner that employed somewhere here out of state, all the info checked out, even the amount on the pay stubs for taxes and such was correct, but it ended up all being an elaborate identity theft scam.