House hacking in Miami, FL

[Kevin Betancourt]

Hi, I am new to the Bigger Pockets community. I am based out of Miami, FL and I am looking to buy my first property out of school. My ideal situation is to be able to house hack and live in a unit of a small multi family property (duplex, triplex, fourplex) with conventional financing. Although I make a decent income, the price point in Miami is very high and making it difficult to find something that makes sense. Any suggestions on how to approach this?Would it make more sense to go in another direction with a lower price point such as a single family home or an apartment to get started and then jump into multi family properties once I have more capital and cash flow?

[Wesley Whitehead]

Kevin and Timothy,

I am currently house hacking an Upper East Side Triplex right now.  This threads very own Maggie Sadowska was my agent for purchase and then served as my leasing agent once I renovated my two rental units.

Miami's price point is on the higher side, but I also think that it is excellent for adventurous individuals looking to break into the real estate game.

I purchased my triplex with a 0% down VA loan and about to close in one week on a reduced rate refinance of 2.5% fixed (from 3.75). My new monthly payment will go from $3400 to $3100/month. My tenants currently pay $1700 and $1350 for rent which Maggie would agree is under market rent. My job is about 3.5 miles away and that commute take anywhere from under 10 to 20 minutes depending on traffic. To top it off, I live half a mile away from a world class jiu jitsu academy. All in all, house hacking in Miami has been a fantastic experience for me.

Please PM me for more info.  I'm actually looking to potentially house hack when my occupancy period has elasped.

Wes