House Hacking in Montgomery County, MD

[Raj Modi]

Hello, I am 22, fresh out of college and have my first job. I have been saving since January and now have nearly $20k most of which is in stocks at the moment.

My work is in Germantown and my family is in Potomac, so I want to house hack in this area, mainly looking in Rockville, Germantown, Gaithersburg, but open to other areas like Silver Spring, Frederick, and Clarksburg (basically anywhere somewhat close to Germantown.  I have 2 concerns. This area is very expensive so while it would be a push for me to go for a single family home (usually at least $400k), the most accessible options are townhomes. Does anyone have experience house hacking a townhome? specifically in this area?

Second concern is consistently having tenants. In this area, a lot of young people can easily live with their parents, and there aren't doesn't seem to be any immediately close, large public or private colleges. So I am concerned if I will be able have a steady stream of tenants that will pay my expenses for me. Do any investors in this area have experience/advice on finding and keeping tenants?

Thanks!