First Time Investor Looking into a House Hack in Los Angeles

Los Angeles County, California
New Member Introductions
8moFollow

First Time Investor Looking into a House Hack in Los Angeles

Adrian Agpaoa
Member since 2025 · 1 post · 2 votes

Hi everyone, 

Glad to be joining the BiggerPockets community! After a year of learning about real estate investing, my wife and I finally decided to dive into it.

I’m currently a homeowner in California and working toward our first deal. We purchased our primary residence in 2020, when interest rates were much more favorable, which has put us in a solid equity position today.

The goal for Deal #1 is a house hack that we can live in while building a strong foundation to scale into additional rental properties over time. From a capital standpoint, I’m evaluating the option of selling our current primary residence to fund the down payment and reserves for the house hack. We are currently working with a real estate agent to assess if selling is the right move, but I'm finding it very difficult to part ways with our current interest rate.  

I've looked into alternatives like a HELOC, but that option isn't available to me since it was already used for major repairs on the property. At this point, we're deciding whether redeploying equity via a sale makes more sense than holding it in my current home.

I’d love to connect with others who’ve been in a similar position — especially anyone who sold a primary residence to reposition into their first investment property, or who has experience house hacking in higher-cost markets like California.

Looking forward to learning from the group and contributing where I can.

-Adrian 

2Reply
132 views

Most Popular Reply

Ewa RezaPro Member
Real Estate Agent · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2009 · 144 posts · 75 votes
8mo

Welcome, Adrian. You’re asking the right questions, and this is a very common fork in the road I see as both a CA Realtor and investor.

A few thoughts from someone who has been on both sides of this decision:

  1. The low rate you have is an asset, not just the house.
    Selling a 2020 rate is emotionally and financially hard for a reason. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. Before selling, I always run numbers assuming the current home becomes a future rental. Even if it is not a screaming cash flow deal today, a low fixed rate in CA often ages very well over time.
  2. House hacking in high cost markets is more about loan terms than cash flow year one.
    In places like LA, SF, San Diego, the real win is buying 2 to 4 units with owner occupied financing. Low down payment, better rates, and you lock in long term appreciation while tenants subsidize your payment. Many first time investors underestimate how powerful that is over 5 - 10 years.
  3. Selling to redeploy equity is not wrong, but it’s irreversible.
    I’ve seen people sell their primary, buy one house hack, then struggle to get back into the market later because prices moved faster than their savings. If selling is the only way to get started, it can work. But if you can keep the original property and still qualify, that usually wins long term.
  4. Creative alternatives worth exploring before selling:
    – Cross collateralization or delayed HELOC after seasoning
    – 401k loan for part of the down payment
    – Buying a 2 to 4 unit that qualifies for 5% down owner occupied financing
    – Living very lean in the house hack for 1 - 2 years to rebuild reserves quickly
  5. Start boring and scalable.
    Your first deal does not need to be perfect. It needs to be survivable. A small multi unit where rents offset most of the payment is often a cleaner foundation than selling a great primary to chase deal number one.

Side note since you mentioned house hacking... I currently have a 3 unit property in Los Angeles that qualifies for owner occupied financing with as little as 5% down. Deals like that are exactly how many investors here got started without giving up their original home. DM me if you're interested. 

So welcome to BP! You’re thinking about all this the right way, which already puts you ahead of most people.

1Reply
See this reply in the discussion

6 Replies

Jump to latestLatest
  • Adriana Cuenca
    Member since 2026 · 9 posts · 6 votes
    8mo

    Hi Adrian!

    My name is Adriana, welcome to the community,  I joined yesterday. 
    I am also interest in the house hack, I dont own a property, so this will be my first house ever. I also live in California.

    Good luck finding the information you are looking for!

    1Reply
  • Tre DeBragaPro Member
    Real Estate Agent · Worcester, MA · Member since 2022 · 107 posts · 48 votes
    8mo

    Welcome to BiggerPockets

     That low interest rate is a real asset, so it makes sense to hesitate before giving it up.

    A few thoughts on how I’d approach it:

    1. Don’t rush to sell just to unlock equity
    If your current home can cash flow even modestly as a rental, I’d work hard to keep it. Low fixed-rate debt is extremely hard to replace, and many people regret selling those early properties.

    2. Underwrite your current home as a rental
    Even if you’re not moving yet, run the numbers based on market rent and true expenses. If it’s a strong long-term hold, maybe try your best to keep it.

    3. Look for ways to sequence the move
    Before selling, I’d explore low-down-payment options, down payment assistance programs, partial renting, or waiting 12–24 months. 

    4. Sell only if it clearly accelerates your plan
    If selling lets you buy a significantly stronger deal that creates real cash flow and sets you up to scale faster, then it can make sense — but I’d want that tradeoff to be very clear on paper.

    0Reply
  • Aaron ZimmermanBusiness Member
    Accountant · Chicago, IL · Member since 2018 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    8mo

    How much would your gain be? It might be a good move to sell if you can't get any cash flow from your current property. Also - if you sell, up to $500k of gain could be excluded since you're married. 

    [email protected]
    Brick House CPAs53 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    0Reply
  • Neil Potts
    Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2026 · 24 posts · 7 votes
    8mo

    Hi Adrian thanks for sharing!

    Great idea - house hacking is definitely a positive direction to take and I've personally previewed a few really great house hacking opportunities in Los Angeles over the last couple of weeks.

    I'm a realtor in Los Angeles, but also an active investor/developer and so I would simply say that there are lots of ways to find capital for investment properties that don't involve your own property. I'm conscious that you already have a realtor so I don't want to step on their toes, but get creative with where to find the capital because for the right deal, the capital is always out there.

    As for my general take on rates, it's defintely great that you've got a lower rate locked in because I honestly just don't see rates reducing materially for the forseeable. I know there's political pressure, which of course nobody can control, but from a macro-economic perspective, there's not much data to suggest that a significant rate cut is happening any time soon (political pressure/decisions aside). 

    Alternatively, look at investing in a few cash flowing properties in other states (for the same price as the LA house hack) and use that cash flow to fund more investments.

    Lots of options!

    0Reply
  • Ewa RezaPro Member
    Real Estate Agent · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2009 · 144 posts · 75 votes
    8mo

    Welcome, Adrian. You’re asking the right questions, and this is a very common fork in the road I see as both a CA Realtor and investor.

    A few thoughts from someone who has been on both sides of this decision:

    1. The low rate you have is an asset, not just the house.
      Selling a 2020 rate is emotionally and financially hard for a reason. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. Before selling, I always run numbers assuming the current home becomes a future rental. Even if it is not a screaming cash flow deal today, a low fixed rate in CA often ages very well over time.
    2. House hacking in high cost markets is more about loan terms than cash flow year one.
      In places like LA, SF, San Diego, the real win is buying 2 to 4 units with owner occupied financing. Low down payment, better rates, and you lock in long term appreciation while tenants subsidize your payment. Many first time investors underestimate how powerful that is over 5 - 10 years.
    3. Selling to redeploy equity is not wrong, but it’s irreversible.
      I’ve seen people sell their primary, buy one house hack, then struggle to get back into the market later because prices moved faster than their savings. If selling is the only way to get started, it can work. But if you can keep the original property and still qualify, that usually wins long term.
    4. Creative alternatives worth exploring before selling:
      – Cross collateralization or delayed HELOC after seasoning
      – 401k loan for part of the down payment
      – Buying a 2 to 4 unit that qualifies for 5% down owner occupied financing
      – Living very lean in the house hack for 1 - 2 years to rebuild reserves quickly
    5. Start boring and scalable.
      Your first deal does not need to be perfect. It needs to be survivable. A small multi unit where rents offset most of the payment is often a cleaner foundation than selling a great primary to chase deal number one.

    Side note since you mentioned house hacking... I currently have a 3 unit property in Los Angeles that qualifies for owner occupied financing with as little as 5% down. Deals like that are exactly how many investors here got started without giving up their original home. DM me if you're interested. 

    So welcome to BP! You’re thinking about all this the right way, which already puts you ahead of most people.

    1Reply
  • Twana RasoulBusiness Member
    Real Estate Agent · San Diego, CA · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    8mo

    @Adrian Agpaoa 

    If you’re sitting on a low interest rate, that alone can make holding the property a strong cash flow play, especially if you move out and keep it as a rental. From an investing standpoint, the ideal house-hack scenario is usually not selling your primary residence, but instead keeping it and acquiring the next property with low money down if your finances allow.

    Be cautious when you’re advised to sell first. In many cases, that recommendation conveniently creates another transaction, so it’s worth running the numbers yourself before making that move.

    I strongly recommend working with an agent who is an active investor and has executed the same strategy you’re considering, ideally in your specific market. In places like San Diego, market nuances, financing options, and rent dynamics matter a lot. Many agents market themselves as “investor-friendly,” but without owning or operating investments locally, their guidance is often theoretical.

    If you can comfortably qualify, keeping your current home and house hacking the next purchase with minimal cash out of pocket is often the more strategic, long-term play.

    Compass5122 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    0Reply
Join the conversationCreate a free account to reply, vote on answers and follow this thread.
Log InJoin for Free