Looking to Invest in Orange County as a start - House Hacking - Is it worth it?

Question

Hi everyone,

Happy New Year! I wanted to share a bit about my situation and get some advice from those more experienced in real estate.

My wife and I live in Irvine, Orange County, as renters. Over the past few months, I’ve been diving into Brandon Turner’s books and bingeing Dave’s BiggerPockets podcast whenever I have the chance. I’m not looking to retire early or replace my income through rentals—I just want to diversify our assets. Our initial plan is to house hack a quadplex somewhere in Orange County. We’ve been looking at cities like Fullerton, Cypress, Anaheim, Orange, and Tustin, but we’re staying away from LA County and Santa Ana due to rental restrictions.

A little about us:

• I’m 30, my wife is 28, and neither of us has owned property before. We both work in finance, so we’re pretty comfortable running the numbers.
• Our combined W2 income is ~$350K, and I work remotely with a very flexible schedule.
• We’ve saved over $200K across various assets (stocks, crypto, cash), and we live frugally, saving around $100K a year after taxes. This doesn’t include any raises or bonuses.
• No kids yet, but we plan to have them down the line.
• Both of our credit scores are over 800, and we have no debt.

The plan:

I know sellers don’t always love FHA loans, and they can be tough to get approved for, but I’d like to use one to make this work. I also know finding a quadplex as a first property in Orange County isn’t going to be easy, but I’m open to hearing people’s thoughts.

My goal isn’t to turn a profit right away—I know properties here might not have positive cash flow for a few years. Still, I want to make this work with a small down payment through an FHA loan. Maybe I’m being a little optimistic, but I feel like this is a good starting point for us.

I’m not interested in investing outside of Orange County for our first property since we know the area really well.

Networking:

I’d also love to attend some real estate meetups around here and connect with people in the space. If you know of any good groups or events, I’d really appreciate the recommendation.

Thanks so much for your time! I’m looking forward to hearing everyone’s thoughts and advice.

Best,

Kevin

Kevin Eun · Answer

Will do!! I am going to try and find ways...there must be a lot of Orange County meetups... we just don't know them yet haha

Tim Ryan · Answer

Hey Kevin,

Since I definitely want to look out for your best interest, I repeat that investing out of state is the best option when you currently live in the very landlord Unfriendly state of CA.

In addition, I never wanted a quad to live in as I just never liked the idea of living next to - above or below others.  But that's just me I guess.

Now Travis knows someone who would regret that.

Haha, I hope you both can roll with me here. Just having fun.

Tim Ryan · Answer

Hi Kevin,

Thanks for sharing your story. I hope you will get some good advice on here.

I read that you said you don't want to invest outside of OC.  I will give you my advice anyway. Invest outside OC.  In fact, invest outside Calif for sure.

I suggest you continue to rent and buy an investment property first. You'll have a property manager do the management (so you being close to it is not needed).

Yes there are risks for some people to go out of state but if you learn the techniques like I have, you'll see it's actually easier and far less risky.

Jesse Rivera · Answer

Hi Kevin,

It looks like you have some money saved, that's fantastic. If you want to put down a low down payment, you might not cash flow for a few years.And FHA for 3-4 units is almost impossible. FHA has a self-sufficiency rule that makes it difficult unless you put A TON OF MONEY down. You can do a duplex though, which might not be a bad idea.With your credit score, conventional might be a good choice, you only need 5% down for 2-4 units if you live in one. I like OC, my office is in North Orange County.

Anthony Angotti · Answer

In Pittsburgh at least FHA isn't necessarily a problem, but you can't be super aggressive about you offer price with most sellers unless you're the only one interested/offering. 203k is tough to get accepted, but a typical FHA isn't the worst.

To answer your title directly, house hacking is entirely worth it and if you're willing to be a landlord it's 100% the best springboard to financial independence. There's very little way to go wrong here since the alternative is paying to live somewhere else anyway.

Marc Anthony Maciel · Answer

Hey Kevin,

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I also live in Orange County (Just north of Fullerton) and am interested in learning more about multi family house hacking. Im interested in finding real estate groups to make new connections as well. I'd be happy to connect with you and will keep an eye out for resources I think we can both take advantage of.

Best,

Marc

Travis Biziorek · Answer

Hey Kevin,

No, you are definitely not crazy! I don't know a single person who regrets starting out with a quad and house hacking. If you and your wife are on the same page, I say absolutely go for it.

Don't worry about the naysayers telling you to invest out of state if that's not something you're comfortable with right now. At the end of the day, they're not looking out for your best interests. Staying local and house hacking—especially now, before kids—gives you so much flexibility to set yourselves up for long-term success.

Your financial foundation is super strong, and house hacking a quad sounds like an amazing first step for you two. Full speed ahead!

Best of luck,Travis

Allan C. · Answer

House hacking a 4 plex is a good plan, and you may even consider getting normal financing with 20% down - just have a little more patience to save more to have adequate reserves. My suggestion is to buy a property worth more than $1M since anything cheaper for 4-plex will not be high quality. Or possibly consider triplex. I agree with your idea to invest in an area you're comfortable with, so stick to OC for now. But fyi, investing in some areas of LA county are fine. Just stay away from city of LA and unincorporated LA county. Most other cities in LA county have similar tenant laws as OC.

Julia Lyrberg · Answer

Happy New Year Kevin, It sounds like you’re in a good position to start your real estate journey! House hacking a quadplex in Orange County is ambitious but doable with patience and the right strategy. Exploring FHA loans makes sense for a low down payment, but keep in mind the competitive market may require some flexibility. For networking, check out local BiggerPockets meetups or real estate investor groups in Orange County. Best of luck!

Kevin Eun · Answer

Thank you! Appreciate the advice here :)

Looking to Invest in Orange County as a start - House Hacking - Is it worth it?

A little about us:

The plan:

Networking:

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