Reality Check: After a Month of Searching, Still Can’t Find a Deal That Works

[Sebastian Robles]

Hello everyone, 

I spent a few months reading, listening to podcasts, and learning up to a point where I felt comfortable starting to dive into the RE investing world. I love the idea of house hacking, and conceptually it seems like a great way to break into RE investing and build wealth. However, I’ve been browsing the housing market around Chamblee (Atlanta area) for about a month now, and honestly… I’m starting to feel demoralized.

The goal is to get a SFH with an owner-occupied loan and live in the basement/ADU while I rent by room the main floor to students or travel nurses. I've built what I think is a pretty solid analysis framework, but after running the numbers on dozens (and I mean dozens) of listings, I still haven’t found a property that meets my targets. I'm trying to meet the following targets: 

- Affordability: Total Cash at Close < $30k

- Lifestyle Benefit: Monthly Cash Flow > $250

- Wealth Building: Internal Rate of Return (IRR) > 8.5% to beat my stock market benchmark

I built an analysis framework using RE By the Numbers from Scott & Meyer as a foundation, and it's specific to my personal situation. It has a detailed cash-flow with 30-year projections, IRR, TBR (Total Benefit Return), and toggles for "property IRR" vs "personal IRR" (house-hack adjusted which considers avoided rent savings). I'm also considering vacancy rate, depreciation, equity paydown, and tax impacts. I'm ignoring any and all appreciation in my analysis (natural or forced).

The biggest challenge I'm noticing is my entry point and available cash on hand. The areas I'm looking at, the properties I'd like to buy, and the cash needed to close the deal (down payment, closing costs, rehab months + mortgage coverage before rental income comes in), tend to make all deals "bad" for me. The second driver affecting cash flow is actually the mortgage rates... I am looking to get an FHA loan, but it seems great credit and very low DTI is not enough in today's lending market. After analyzing 40-plus properties, even with rent savings, the IRR barely clears double digits unless I assume major appreciation or an under-market buy. Vacancy, property taxes, and insurance just kill the math.

I’m starting to wonder, is this just today’s reality, or are there investors here who’ve found creative ways to make Atlanta-area house hacks work in 2025?

Would love to hear from anyone who:

- Recently closed on a house hack; what kind of numbers made it worthwhile?

- Adjusted assumptions or financing to make deals pencil.

- Found overlooked sub-markets around ATL that still cash flow.

Right now I’m trying to stay patient and not force a deal, but it’s getting tough to see all red numbers on the spreadsheet week after week. 

Appreciate any advice or perspective from those who’ve been through this, whether you pivoted strategies, adjusted expectations, or just waited for the right property.

[Elealeh Fulmaran]

FHA house hacks are tight right now, especially with PMI and Atlanta taxes/insurance. Make it winnable by tightening your buy box and shifting levers: target small multis or SFHs with true separate units near hospitals/universities; consider 5% down conventional if PMI is lower than FHA MIP; ask sellers for credits or rate buydowns; add income with by-the-room leases and utility bill-backs; and underwrite with today's taxes, insurance, and a vacancy buffer. Run a quick "Why Not Now" test: 3 neighborhoods, max price/rent-per-room, and minimum DSCR you'll accept. This week: get two lender quotes (FHA vs conventional with buydowns), interview two PMs on room-rent demand, and walk three properties with rentable lower levels. If none pencil, expand one ring out or shift to duplexes until the numbers work.