Hi, my name is Megan and I live in Las Vegas. I am currently in the learning and saving up process of my real estate investing journey. I have been listening to the podcast, reading books, and getting to know all the vocabulary/terms used. I plan on house hacking my 1st property with a FHA loan. I am 23 years old, single, with no kids and think this is the perfect time for me to house hack for 3-5 years buying a new multi each year. My question involves the Las Vegas market and I know it could change by the time I'm ready to buy but I have not had any luck finding a multi family that I would feel safe in. Any advice in finding a safe multi family I would feel comfortable in? I live in Henderson about 25 min south from the Las Vegas strip and would prefer to stay in this area but if a good deal comes up, I wouldn't mind in the other areas around, as long as it's safe.

Thank you!

@Megan Wakefield Multi family units in the 2-4 range will be tricky to find in Vegas. Most of them are in undesirable neighborhoods. If you do a quick search in the forums regarding this you can find a few investors that own some of these. You can possibly reach out to them, I'd tag em here but I don't know off the top of my head.

@Luis Vaca thank you!

I'm in Vegas too, and searched for multifamily here for quite some time. Most are in high crime areas. There was one in the Lakes area, but it was priced so high it would be difficult to cash flow for a few years. You might check Boulder City. I saw a duplex there awhile back for sale which could have worked for house hacking. It needed work but the area was better. I ended up buying out of state

Do you have any friends/relatives/neighbors or co-workers you would feel comfortable living with? I got started by house hacking a large SFH with some friends. The cost for larger houses is usually only a little more than smaller houses. Not only are they in better neighborhoods. They are also much easier to sell if you desire to later.

@Lisa Waldman yeah, I agree! Anything good that comes up is always way over priced! Thanks for the info. The Boulder City area for the most part I would feel comfortable living. I don’t mind putting in some work. At this point I may be considering out of state as well.

@Bill Brandt yes, I have definitely been considering this option more and more, especially if I want to stay around the Henderson area. At the moment I have my heart set on a duplex or triplex but it is becoming more apparent that might not be the best option. Thanks for your perspective, definitely got me thinking.

Hey Megan,

I can not speak on the Las Vegas market as I invest in the Philly Suburbs. However, as Bill mentioned you can always buy a SFH and either rent by the room, look to build a an ADU (Additional Dwelling Unit) as mentioned in Episode 53 of House Hacking success, or look to split the SFH and make a mother in law suite/duplex. Personally, I rented by the room in my first house hack and am now looking to buy a SFH and turn it into a duplex/mother in law suite to live in while I rent out the other unit.

@Kyle Davidson Great information! Thank you, I’ve got lots of options. I will definitely give that episode a listen.

Unfortunately in Las Vegas the vast majority of 2-4plexes were built decades ago and the neighborhoods are “low rent”. Most were built around the late 1950s and 60s. Hardly any built after about 1980. There are a few 4plexes in somewhat nicer neighborhoods and prices on those start at $500k (mostly more). Unless of course you can find a deal at a discount.

Still, smallplexes in nice neighborhoods in Las Vegas are almost like unicorns.

You might do better to buy a home with space that you could rent either as rooms or as simple conversion.

Here's an example of 50k gain in a matter of a month on purchasing 4plexs. If you bought the lowest 4plexs in Las Vegas, in complex called Carriage Park Villas, for around $300k built in 1984, you could have gained $50k appreciation. The below comp just closed a few days ago at $355k. At first I thought maybe a fluke. However, spoke to the buying agent, and another listing at $310k, will close around the $350's.

Lesson to learned, is that the lowest priced multi's that sat on the market, are suddenly being snapped up, and for way higher than list.

https://www.redfin.com/NV/Las-...

Welcome to Bigger Pockets, Megan! You've found the right place for information. 

-Julio

@Casey Powers Thanks for the information! I will continue to keep my eyes open for a fourplex, but I’m not counting on it. Buying the single family home seems more attainable at this point.

@Julio Gonzalez Thanks! Glad to be here!

Originally posted by @Megan Wakefield :

Hi, my name is Megan and I live in Las Vegas. I am currently in the learning and saving up process of my real estate investing journey. I have been listening to the podcast, reading books, and getting to know all the vocabulary/terms used. I plan on house hacking my 1st property with a FHA loan. I am 23 years old, single, with no kids and think this is the perfect time for me to house hack for 3-5 years buying a new multi each year. My question involves the Las Vegas market and I know it could change by the time I'm ready to buy but I have not had any luck finding a multi family that I would feel safe in. Any advice in finding a safe multi family I would feel comfortable in? I live in Henderson about 25 min south from the Las Vegas strip and would prefer to stay in this area but if a good deal comes up, I wouldn't mind in the other areas around, as long as it's safe.

Thank you!

Megan, great to have you!