Multi family to house hack, The search has began

[Erick Nunez]

Hello my name is Erick, I posted about my house hacking journey beginning and received tons of great advice. Thank you all for that! It's officially has been a week of looking at properties and man it's exciting and scary. I know Rome wasn't built in a day and I'm patient. Any tips on multi unit properties? What to look for? But mainly any properties that are worth looking at?? 400k is my cieling which put me a small box and I'm trying to stay in the northwest side of Chicago and maybe even melrose park and surrounding suburbs. My area gets bigger and bigger the more I search. Thank you all in advance! 

[Andrew Glisson]

One angle most people overlook at that price point is buying a lot and building instead of forcing a bad deal.

A lot of lenders will work with you if you have a solid plan, realistic numbers, and a good lot, especially if you’re owner occupying. You often get better layouts, lower long term maintenance, and units that actually pencil instead of compromising on an outdated property.