House Hack - Single Family Home vs. Multi-Unit?

Question

Currently looking to house hack in Richmond/Fredericksburg, VA. The properties I've been finding, however, are either out of my price range or are in high crime areas. The goal with house hacking is to live for free, so you need to make sure you can charge enough rent in the other unit(s) to offset the mortgage. I found a beautiful duplex that was priced at $280,000 with the one side being rented out for $900 a month. The estimated mortgage costs would have been around $1630 though, so I ultimately still would've still been paying over $700 a month. Definitely not bad, but I'd like to keep the mortgage costs under $300 if I can with the ultimate goal of having the rent cover the entire mortgage. I'm now considering pursuing a single-family home and potentially renting out several rooms in the property in order to house hack. I would like some feedback on this if anyone has tried this?

Should I just settle for a single-family home to house hack or continue looking for a multi-unit property? The pro with a duplex is the fact that you have your own space. Again, the issue is the just price for these types of properties are very high or in crime ridden areas. Any feedback or opinions would be appreciated.

Thank you!

Should I just settle for a single-family home to house hack or continue looking for a multi-unit property? The pro with a duplex is the fact that you have your own space. Again, the issue is the just price for these types of properties are very high or in crime ridden areas. Any feedback or opinions would be appreciated.

Thank you!

Conn G. · Answer

You can always rent out the other rooms on your side of the duplex.

Also, I would recommend buying a fixer-upper that you can put sweat-equity in from a few weekends worth of work. Find a property that will have a low mortgage payment with potentially high rents (once renovated). I plan on following the same route once I graduate college.