Realtor · Boulder, CO · Member since 2016 · 3k+ posts · 5k+ votes
1y
This is a great strategy and our former primaries have become the best performing rentals in our portfolio. It's nice getting a better interest rate than an investment property, and putting less down. I also like how I know these properties much better than our properties that I've never lived in, making them easier for me to maintain, and while we're living there I can "tenant-proof" them. It's true that it's harder to find properties that will cash flow once you move out in higher cost of living areas, but overall returns make that a moot point in my opinion because appreciation is also much higher in these better locations. Rent appreciation also tends to be higher and cash flow tends to be much better over time as rents increase more steeply, but it may take several years to spin off positive cash flow as opposed to right away. Some of our properties that were cash flow negative initially now have the best cash flow thanks to rents going up in these great locations, and very little turnover, vacancy loss or tenant damage, etc. I'm not opposed to putting more down to increase cash flow also (COC return suffers of course and there's an opportunity cost to having that trapped equity but it can make sense in certain scenarios).
Real Estate Consultant · St. Louis MSA · Member since 2024 · 3k+ posts · 726 votes
1y
It sounds like you're talking about "house hacking" where you live in one of the units that you buy. It's not a good strategy to scale IMO, but it is often a good strategy to help you build a solid foundation for your portfolio and then use those properties as leverage so you can scale. Happy to discuss in detail if you want to send me a connection request/DM.
@Sean Gammons I love house hacking and would absolutely do this every 12-15 months if my partner wasn’t totally against moving frequently.
I do think this is a great way to get started with a fairly small amount of capital assuming you make enough to obtain the loans. Also I would want to find properties that would have positive cash flow upon moving out each year which might take some time and a decent amount of analysis.
One note is that if the property was helping cover my costs of living while I house hacked it I wouldn’t worry about negative cash flow while I resided there.
@Sean Gammons I love house hacking and would absolutely do this every 12-15 months if my partner wasn’t totally against moving frequently.
I do think this is a great way to get started with a fairly small amount of capital assuming you make enough to obtain the loans. Also I would want to find properties that would have positive cash flow upon moving out each year which might take some time and a decent amount of analysis.
One note is that if the property was helping cover my costs of living while I house hacked it I wouldn’t worry about negative cash flow while I resided there.
Yes, I am going to be buying my 4th house hack next year and I really love the strategy. I think taking advantage of low downpayments and using very high leverage is incredibly powerful it makes your return so much bigger. I buy in the Midwest so it is fairly easy to find a property that cash flows after I move out which is great for this strategy. I don't think it would work as well in a HCOL area.
Realtor · Boulder, CO · Member since 2016 · 3k+ posts · 5k+ votes
1y
This is a great strategy and our former primaries have become the best performing rentals in our portfolio. It's nice getting a better interest rate than an investment property, and putting less down. I also like how I know these properties much better than our properties that I've never lived in, making them easier for me to maintain, and while we're living there I can "tenant-proof" them. It's true that it's harder to find properties that will cash flow once you move out in higher cost of living areas, but overall returns make that a moot point in my opinion because appreciation is also much higher in these better locations. Rent appreciation also tends to be higher and cash flow tends to be much better over time as rents increase more steeply, but it may take several years to spin off positive cash flow as opposed to right away. Some of our properties that were cash flow negative initially now have the best cash flow thanks to rents going up in these great locations, and very little turnover, vacancy loss or tenant damage, etc. I'm not opposed to putting more down to increase cash flow also (COC return suffers of course and there's an opportunity cost to having that trapped equity but it can make sense in certain scenarios).