Hi everyone,

Right now I go to school in Manhattan and would love to stay here after I graduate. I have real estate goals, and I've always thought my first step would be lowering my living expenses with a house hack.

In NYC, and more specifically Manhattan, is it possible to house hack effectively? Would I be better off renting an entire apartment/condo and doing subleases or Airbnb for the leftover rooms?

Also, are tax abatements just reductions in property tax? It's a term I've always heard thrown around with NYC real estate.

I'd love to hear thoughts on this, thank you!

1 - You want to see if you can airbnb your unit.
If you live in a condo or coop unit - they may have rules saying that you can't do this.
Even if they allow it, Airbnb may not allow it.

2 - It is very hard to find a house-hack unit in any part of NYC, let alone Manhattan. You may be able to find some low-income requirement co-op in the north side of Manhattan for maybe $200,000.

Tax abatements are usually associated with new development condos from what I've seen as an agent that is also looking to invest in the Manhattan area more specifically Upper Manhattan. 

I specialize in working with landlords and they usually do not allow Airbnbs. They even have riders tenants have to sign as part of the lease.

Without some creative out of the box planning, the numbers by themselves don't work for house hacks. Some value add renovations may help, but with the current rental market, it may not be the best approach either. The landlords I work with are even hesitant to add washer/dryers in the unit which is the most searched criteria since May. 

I'm not speaking in absolutes since Manhattan is quite diverse in sub-market. This is all just food for thought derived from my anecdotal experience. Hope this helps and all the best!

@Cole Britting you may want to consider house hacking in New Jersey.   Purchasing properties close to NYC direct transit hubs works well if done right.

@Basit Siddiqi Sorry for the late reply, Basit, but thank you for the information!

@Lewis Tse Thanks, Lewis. It is good to know that tax abatements are typically for new developments. I appreciate the info!

@Shawn Mcenteer Hey Shawn. Any markets in particular in NJ that you think are good for house hacking? I've been looking around at a few places in Hudson County and the southern part of Bergen County. Jersey City seems to have some potential.

@Cole Britting   Union and Essex has worked well over the year, if you are comfortable with renovating these areas have huge potential and attract high paying tenants.