How was your first house-hack?

Question

curious to know for those who house-hacked, what was your general experience, any lessons learned? what were the primary things you looked for in a house hack in terms of return on investment?

Syed Zafar · Answer

@Aaron Caminati thanks for the insight, and great work on getting started!

how did the removal of tenants go - was it an eviction or removal without a formal eviction?

When you got your house-hack were you looking for cashflow or house-hacking it or turned it into one?

Thanks for the tip!

Aaron Caminati · Answer

@Syed Zafar it was.. Alright. No Evection, just parted ways. I bought it with that intention for sure, but have adjusted my way of doing things quite a bit since the start

William P. · Answer

Hello Syed!

I started my first real estate property by house hacking a duplex at the start of COVID actually. I did alot of research, educational learning through podcasts, reading, videos, and in-person resources prior, along with getting my financials in order. I honestly didn't get too into focusing on return on investment and was more so just sticking to my criteria to build up some moment and getting my feet wet. Brandon from bigger pockets seems to also have this mentality for first time investments as the first property wont make you rich, but will teach you alot to continue building up the momentum.

Overall my experience has been great and I have learned alot with actually being a business as a sole proprietor, financial aspects to consider, DIY and contractor experiences, legal considerations and other knowledge gaps such as taxes I wanted to speak with a professional about, and overall confidence for continuing further.

My primary things I was looking for was a duplex within my downtown area that was close to local resources, was structural sound, smaller aspects that could be improved on the house for increased equity, and good parking/laundry functionality. After getting my first home I looked into the BRRRR method and I would recommend to look into that as well.

Aaron Caminati · Answer

I'm currently still living in my first house hack. Started off a little rough, my first tenants didn't last long, and one of the 4 of the second batch of tenants I didn't screen and ended up costing me a fair amount of money and hassle before I kicked her out. BUT Other than being new and unprepared, things have gone generally pretty well, cant really complain about living for free AND making a profit.

Screen your tenants well.. you don't want to end up with someone whos unbearable to live with. I start with 6 month leases to start, and if there's no issues I move to a 1yr lease after that. Also, check your local laws, you can be a little more specific on your qualifications since you're living in the property.