New to Real Estate — House Hacking Questions

Investor · Ankeny, IA · Member since 2022 · 158 posts · 129 votes

8mo

Hey Kaden, welcome to BP and real estate investing!

Great questions and getting started at your age is a huge advantage. I would definitely take advantage of using FHA, esp as a first time home buyer. Like you said, you will need to live in your residence for at least a year, sounds like that window would work. There's no rule of thumb on how long. However, in that time you are living there and if you are going to be moving to a different state, you're going to want to build a team, including a property manager, along with a good handyman for maintenance/upkeep. With regards to 30 vs 15 years, the question isn't how long you're going to be in the area, but how long do you intend to keep the property before selling. At your age, 30 year would probably make the most sense to preserve cash flow and you (hopefully) will have this property for a long time to allow for plenty of time for debt paydown.

Keep us posted, continue to take action and all the best!

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Kaden Wingert
OP
New to Real Estate · Cedar Rapids, IA · Member since 2026 · 3 posts · 3 votes
8mo
Quote from @Ryan Irwin:

Hey Kaden, welcome to BP and real estate investing!
Great questions and getting started at your age is a huge advantage. I would definitely take advantage of using FHA, esp as a first time home buyer. Like you said, you will need to live in your residence for at least a year, sounds like that window would work. There's no rule of thumb on how long. However, in that time you are living there and if you are going to be moving to a different state, you're going to want to build a team, including a property manager, along with a good handyman for maintenance/upkeep. With regards to 30 vs 15 years, the question isn't how long you're going to be in the area, but how long do you intend to keep the property before selling. At your age, 30 year would probably make the most sense to preserve cash flow and you (hopefully) will have this property for a long time to allow for plenty of time for debt paydown.
Keep us posted, continue to take action and all the best!
That makes sense. I appreciate the advice!
1 Reply

Ryan SpathBusiness Member

Real Estate Agent · Boise, ID · Member since 2017 · 553 posts · 372 votes

8mo

@Kaden Wingert

Great questions—and you’re thinking about the right things early, which already puts you ahead of most people. One of the biggest obstacles for new investors isn’t a lack of information, it’s taking action. It’s easy to get stuck in analysis paralysis and keep learning without ever pulling the trigger.

From a lending perspective, you're correct: FHA requires owner occupancy with the intent to live in the property for at least one year. Beyond that, there isn't a universal rule for how long you should stay. It really comes down to your goals with real estate. Are you house hacking mainly to reduce or eliminate your living expenses and then move on, or are you intentionally stacking smaller “base hit” deals with the goal of building a long-term portfolio?

The same framework applies when comparing 15-year versus 30-year loans. The right choice depends on what you’re optimizing for. When I was getting started, I intentionally chose longer-term loans. The lower monthly payments provided flexibility, improved cash flow, and breathing room while we learned the business. Early on, that flexibility was far more valuable than accelerating principal paydown.

Keep going and reach out if you have any specific questions.

[email protected]208-600-2814

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Kaden Wingert
OP
New to Real Estate · Cedar Rapids, IA · Member since 2026 · 3 posts · 3 votes
8mo
Quote from @Ryan Spath:

@Kaden Wingert
Great questions—and you’re thinking about the right things early, which already puts you ahead of most people. One of the biggest obstacles for new investors isn’t a lack of information, it’s taking action. It’s easy to get stuck in analysis paralysis and keep learning without ever pulling the trigger.

From a lending perspective, you're correct: FHA requires owner occupancy with the intent to live in the property for at least one year. Beyond that, there isn't a universal rule for how long you should stay. It really comes down to your goals with real estate. Are you house hacking mainly to reduce or eliminate your living expenses and then move on, or are you intentionally stacking smaller “base hit” deals with the goal of building a long-term portfolio?

The same framework applies when comparing 15-year versus 30-year loans. The right choice depends on what you’re optimizing for. When I was getting started, I intentionally chose longer-term loans. The lower monthly payments provided flexibility, improved cash flow, and breathing room while we learned the business. Early on, that flexibility was far more valuable than accelerating principal paydown.
Keep going and reach out if you have any specific questions.
Hey Ryan, thanks for the insight! I’m planning to build a long-term real estate portfolio, and I think I’d likely lean toward a 30-year loan early on for the added flexibility and cash flow as I get established, as you mentioned. The reason I was interested in house hacking is that it appears to be one of the best ways for new real estate investors to get started.
Thanks for the insight—I’m planning to build a real estate portfolio long term, and house hacking feels like a strong way to get started while learning and reducing expenses. Because of that, I’d likely lean toward a 30-year loan early on for the added flexibility and cash flow as I get established.
1 Reply
Ryan SpathBusiness Member
Real Estate Agent · Boise, ID · Member since 2017 · 553 posts · 372 votes
8mo
Quote from @Kaden Wingert:

Quote from @Ryan Spath:

@Kaden Wingert
Great questions—and you’re thinking about the right things early, which already puts you ahead of most people. One of the biggest obstacles for new investors isn’t a lack of information, it’s taking action. It’s easy to get stuck in analysis paralysis and keep learning without ever pulling the trigger.

From a lending perspective, you're correct: FHA requires owner occupancy with the intent to live in the property for at least one year. Beyond that, there isn't a universal rule for how long you should stay. It really comes down to your goals with real estate. Are you house hacking mainly to reduce or eliminate your living expenses and then move on, or are you intentionally stacking smaller “base hit” deals with the goal of building a long-term portfolio?

The same framework applies when comparing 15-year versus 30-year loans. The right choice depends on what you’re optimizing for. When I was getting started, I intentionally chose longer-term loans. The lower monthly payments provided flexibility, improved cash flow, and breathing room while we learned the business. Early on, that flexibility was far more valuable than accelerating principal paydown.
Keep going and reach out if you have any specific questions.
Hey Ryan, thanks for the insight! I’m planning to build a long-term real estate portfolio, and I think I’d likely lean toward a 30-year loan early on for the added flexibility and cash flow as I get established, as you mentioned. The reason I was interested in house hacking is that it appears to be one of the best ways for new real estate investors to get started.
Thanks for the insight—I’m planning to build a real estate portfolio long term, and house hacking feels like a strong way to get started while learning and reducing expenses. Because of that, I’d likely lean toward a 30-year loan early on for the added flexibility and cash flow as I get established.

No problem at all—always happy to help. A couple additional thoughts since your goal is to build a long-term portfolio.

When you’re running numbers on a house hack, make sure the property stands on its own once you move out. And by that, I mean true cash flow—not just rent minus mortgage. Be conservative and factor in vacancy, CapEx, repairs, maintenance, and management (even if you plan to self-manage). The goal isn't just to make the deal work today, but to build assets that will serve you later.

If you can stack small “base hit” deals like this every 1–3 years, you’ll eventually look up 12–15 years from now and have 10 properties—and two things will almost certainly have happened:
1. The properties you bought early on will likely have seen significant appreciation.
2. You’ll wonder how the time passed so quickly.
As the portfolio grows and equity builds, you start creating optionality—the ability to refinance, sell selectively, reduce work, or pivot based on life circumstances. Over the long run, many stable rental portfolios tend to produce roughly 4–7% annual returns on equity. That means for every $1M in portfolio value, you can reasonably expect $40k–$70k per year in income, depending on structure and market conditions.

The real goal is to build a portfolio that can support you later in life—especially when the inevitable curveballs show up. Your job right now is simple (not easy): create a plan and execute it. There will be mistakes and setbacks along the way—that’s part of the business. The key is treating this like a business early on, sticking to your plan, and allowing it to evolve as you gain experience.

You’re thinking about this the right way—keep going.
[email protected]208-600-2814
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Aaron ZimmermanBusiness Member

Accountant · Chicago, IL · Member since 2018 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes

8mo

1. For putting more money down, that’s personal preference. For me, the things that matter for house hacking are reducing lives expenses while you’re there compared to other options AND the property cash flows post move out. I would run the numbers with different debt. You only need to live in the property for one year. I would consider house hacking in your current location if you want to have a property in that area long term. Then, you can house hack your property in the new area. Other tips: get your sewers scoped and vet any inherited tenants

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Matt McCurdyBusiness Member

Real Estate Broker · Cedar Rapids, IA · Member since 2019 · 143 posts · 56 votes

5mo

Quote from @Kaden Wingert:

Hi everyone,

I recently graduated from college this past May, and I’m currently living in Iowa. I’m very interested in getting started in real estate investing and have been spending a lot of time learning through BiggerPockets.

Right now, I've been thinking about house hacking and potentially purchasing a small multifamily property (most likely a duplex or triplex) using an FHA loan to get in with as low a down payment as possible. From your experience, is this generally the best route for a first property, or does it make more sense to put 20% down if you're able to swing it?

One thing I'm unsure about is timing. I'm planning to relocate within my current company to a different state in about a year, so I wasn't planning on making any purchasing decisions until then. However, this made me wonder about how long you should intend to stay in a property you purchase before moving and/or selling it. For an FHA loan, I know I have to intend to live in the property for at least a year, but what would be the rule of thumb for how long you should plan on being in the area to do house hacking? 5-7 years? Does a 30-year mortgage usually require you to stay put a little longer to receive a better return, since you would be paying a higher percentage on interest rather than principal, as opposed to a 15-year?

I’d love to learn from people who have already gone through this — whether that’s house hacking, buying your first deal, or navigating a move shortly after purchasing. I’m very open to mentorship and learning from others’ experiences, so any advice or lessons learned would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Hey @Kaden Wingert, sorry for the slow response to your initial post. I'm not sure if you're in Cedar Rapids now or wanting to invest in the community, but that's where I invest and I'm happy to help guide you. House hacking is a great way to start. I will tell you we have typically 10-20 properties on the market in the 2-4 unit space. When those properties are price right, investors pounce. I don't say this to scare you off, I say this to give you perspective that you really need to hone your buy box criteria, so you can make decisions quickly. I wrote the book called "Cornfed Millionaire" and was just on the BiggerPockets podcast: "Escaping Cubicle Life with $10k/Month Cash Flow (Then 3x-ing That!)"

[email protected]319-450-6447

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New to Real Estate — House Hacking Questions

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