House Hacking a SFH In Columbus,Ohio
Hello, my wife and I (No kids) are planning to do some house hacking on our single family home in Columbus Ohio. We have a home with 3Bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms(we only occupy one bedroom). We've been researching on how to get into real estate investing and think that this a great way to save capital for future investments and get experience as a landlord.
What I wanted to do is get some insight to anyone in BP that is currently doing this around my area or in general. Also, somethings to keep in mind while house hacking?
Thanks for the Info.
@Ruben Castillo I did this with the first property I bought. It was a duplex. We rented out the other side of our duplex and the extra bedroom we had on our side.
Make sure you screen your tenant well. Make the rent below market value so you can choose from a lot of applicants. You can screen them through Cozy.com. They pay about $40 for a background and credit check.
I am a Realtor, property manager, and investor in Columbus, OH. Please let me know if you have any other questions or if I can help you with anything.
@Ruben Castillo you are in the right track for sure! Oh if I had a time machine, I’d go back and house hack! I assume it would have very little effect on the space-time continuum and significant effect on our quest for financial independence 😁
I know a smart guy who just moved into his own 4-plex in North Columbus and might be a great connection for you. @zackrosenbaum
@Ruben Castillo, thank you for sharing! We (my fiance and I - no kids) are also looking to house hack with our next property. We currently own a 3/1.5 SFH in North Linden that was purchased last year; we intend to move out with our next deal and keep that property as a SF rental. I wanted to see how your experience has been so far or whether you decided to go in a different direction. With housing prices being so high in desirable areas of Columbus, we are struggling to find a deal that makes sense for this strategy.
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@Remington Lyman's advice is well put. A good tenant screening is KEY. This is one of the best ways to get started in my opinion, good luck @Ruben Castillo!
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Where have you been looking @Paige Hamilton?
Initially, we were looking to house hack with a single family home such as a large split level on Devonshire/Forest Park West area, but we've also been searching in the South end and Franklinton for a multi-family property. We were considering Air BnB but not sure how feasible that will be in the near future. Since we're going owner occupant for this next one, it needs to be a somewhat safe area.
Originally posted by @Paige Hamilton:Initially, we were looking to house hack with a single family home such as a large split level on Devonshire/Forest Park West area, but we've also been searching in the South end and Franklinton for a multi-family property. We were considering Air BnB but not sure how feasible that will be in the near future. Since we're going owner occupant for this next one, it needs to be a somewhat safe area.
I love Franklinton!
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I did this for 3 years in a SFH. Put them on a lease just like you would any tenant. Include clauses for guests, cars parked overnight, and other issues you wouldn't need to include for someone who wasn't going to live in your unit.
If you are not good at reading people, do not do this. Run credit and background checks.
Originally posted by @Paige Hamilton:@Ruben Castillo, thank you for sharing! We (my fiance and I - no kids) are also looking to house hack with our next property. We currently own a 3/1.5 SFH in North Linden that was purchased last year; we intend to move out with our next deal and keep that property as a SF rental. I wanted to see how your experience has been so far or whether you decided to go in a different direction. With housing prices being so high in desirable areas of Columbus, we are struggling to find a deal that makes sense for this strategy.
I did 3 flips in north linden great area in columbus for SFRs to get in and out of. made at least 20k a piece on them.
Hello @Paige Hamilton, @Robert Ellis
Its been 8 months while househacking and everything has been going fine. The tenant i found was a fellow Honda associate. I put a listing on our private Honda Marketplace (community of over 9,000 people) and had many candidates (Engineers mostly). What was good about this is that i know rent will be paid each week and they are business professionals that are responsible and wont get into any illegal activities.
I did also buy a duplex in westerville, OH near Otterbein University. I'm currently renting one side and renovating the other side. I found this area to be great because of the University and great Elementary schools. We put the renovated side up for rent and had many good applicants.
I will definitely be on the lookout for more duplex in Westerville, OH and SFH in Dublin to purchase. I find that i'm getting good at renovating and managing tenants. Definitely, house hacking was a good way to get started in long term real estate investing.