Hey all. I am thinking about buying my first property and wanted to get some feedback on whether or not I am starting out right. My current situation is I am living and renting in Atlanta. I live in my friends condo so I pay $200-$300 less than the average rent. I am starting to feel like my money is going towards nothing and I also want to start investing in real estate. Over the last couple weeks I have been studying bigger pockets and how to get started. I had the thought of buying a 2-3 person condo or townhouse, living in one of the rooms, and renting out the other room(s). I don't want to get a house because I don't have time to maintain a yard. Is there anything I am missing with this approach or is this a good idea?
I would take into consideration HOA fees and parking. Some condos require you to pay extra for more than 1 parking spot or for covered parking. By the time you factor HOA in (which may be several hundreds of dollars per month), you may be better off with a yard and paying for lawn care. Sometimes condos are more affordable, but not always.
I don't think you can go wrong with house hacking as long as you plan it right. I would just make sure that whatever house or condo you buy also makes sense to use as rental down the road. It's a lot easier to scale in the future if you are buying with that mindset.
That is a great point with the HOA / parking vs paying for a lawn service. Yeah I definitely want to use it as a rental in the future. Thanks for the advice!