Partnering on a House Hack in a HCOL Area
Would it make sense to partner on a house hack in this way:
I live in California, and I'd like to move back up to the San Francisco Bay Area for career growth and networking. I currently moved back home to Los Angeles after Law School to save up some money (emergency fund and for general real estate investing). But, I'd like to move back to the Bay if it makes financial sense.
Obviously, the San Francisco Bay area is stupid expensive. But, what about a partner house hack? Say you want a piece of the Bay Area real estate market, either for appreciation or for tax incentives, but you don't live in California or the Bay. I could move into a property that looks like a good deal (either in SF or the Easy Bay) and secure an FHA for 3.5% down by virtue of living in the property as my primary, rent out additional rooms, and essentially function as the property manager. This way, the partner wouldn't have to shell out an insane $200,000 for a down payment. Instead, the downpayment would be split between us and lowered with the FHA 3.5% down option. The partner and I would share the down payment and any repair costs respective of our equity position (e.g., 70/30) and the partner would co-sign on the mortgage to ensure that we secure the FHA.
The partner would get the bulk of the equity position, and the high barrier of entry to a HCOL area would be lowered via a lower down payment, lower repair costs, and lower management costs. Is this something an investor would be interested in, or is it too cumbersome to be attractive to folks?