Can anyone share a solid house hack story in Dallas?

Question

I want to house hack to kick off my investing portfolio, but am unsure of the route to take or if it even works well in the Dallas area.

Thank you,

Bruce Lynn · Answer

You buy a 4bedroom 3 bath house...stay in one room and rent the others to your friends, family, work colleagues, or others.   You will probably still need to contribute rent on your bedroom, unless you get lucky.  Plan on it, but if you don't have to it is a bonus.

Bank some cash now before you buy so you can make competitive offers.

While maybe possible, I think it is very very tough to do what you might have heard on the podcasts about buying a 2-3-4plex, living in one unit and renting the others and living for free.  Prices and rents probably don't support that idea for the most part in DFW right now.   The idea of getting an FHA loan to do this is also probably not likely as there is a lot of cash chasing multi right now.

Kenneth McKeown · Answer

@Nick Belsky what did he purchase that duplex for? lol - $3200/mo is a wild amount for rent unless we're talking about a new modern/downtown duplex.

Alex Euziere · Answer

I agree with @Bruce Lynn. I have 2 siblings coming out of college in the next couple of years and this is the exact same house hacking I am going to try and help them start with.

Sam Smith · Answer

Hey Aaron,

I live in Dallas and it’s definitely doable if you live in one bedroom and rent the others out. DFW is actually one of the best places to do this in.

My advice is to get a place with 2 bathrooms - makes having roommates easier. Also, the more bedrooms you have, the better your cash flow will be. So, three or four bedrooms is best. If you’re looking for a realtor, I have one that I would recommend here in Dallas.

Good luck!

Michael H. · Answer

I purchased my duplex for $507k in 2020 and rent 1 side 3br/2.5 bath for $2,700. Deals do pop up but you need to act fast. Next door duplex just sold for $600k but needs full renovation.

Kenneth McKeown · Answer

There's so many ways to do this. I purchased a 620k half duplex in East Dallas / Knox area and I custom built it with an AirBnb suite + have a roommate paying me $1,350/mo. I even have an office I could rent out as an additional bedroom but with the AirBnB and roomate it easily covers my mortgage for a 2020 build. Also - it's now likely worth close to $800k in two years.

Nick Belsky · Answer

@Aaron Heers

Turnkey MFs in DFW are expensive... but they get great rents!  I've got a client who owns a duplex with 4bed/3ba on each side and is getting $3200 on each side per month... His DSCR is over 300%!

So... can it be done? Yes, absolutely.  Is it easy to find the right deal? Not so much.  There are deals out there that can earn you solid returns off the bat, but EVERYONE is looking for them.  Fierce competition.

Build a relationship with a wholesaler and work with them to find you a deal that is tailored to you.  There are a lot of wholesalers in DFW.

Cheers!

Nick Belsky · Answer

@Kenneth McKeown

He bought it in 2017 for around $380k.  He renovated both sides over the next two years.  Lived in one side and rented the other.  Appraised for over $700k recently.  I think he's getting so much since its 4/3 on both sides... I don't personally see many of those that aren't crammed into 1500sq.  Was built in 1968.  It's got charm and was well renovated.  Not ultra modern at all.

Cheers!

Can anyone share a solid house hack story in Dallas?

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