Single Family House-Hack

[Felix Rodriguez]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Portsmouth.

Purchase price: $240,000
Cash invested: $1,000
Sale price: $318,000

I purchased this single-family home (4 Bedroom/ 3 Bathroom, 1768 sqft.) using a $0-down VA loan with plans to house-hack the extra rooms. Located in Portsmouth, VA. I spent the first 2–3 months doing the cosmetic work and repairs myself. While it was a grind, it was an invaluable learning experience. It taught me firsthand what it takes to run a profitable rental, how to manage tenants, and exactly why having systems in place is non-negotiable for my next deals.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

House hacking seemed like the best/easiest way to get started in real estate.
- Low up-front cost
- Multiple rooms for revenue
- All under one roof

Reason for not going multi-family route. Could not find any at that point in time/ too new to know better, if not i would of gone that route from the start.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

MLS through agent and negotiate the my agents commission and some repairs.

How did you finance this deal?

VA loan

How did you add value to the deal?

Only did cosmetics and minor repairs. Thought i did replace the AC system and extend the driveway sideways for 2 more cars to fit with gravel, seeing as i couldn't get a drive way to the back of the home like most home in the neighborhood.

What was the outcome?

House hacked for 2 years, keeping one tenant for nearly 3 years and another for a year the very last year owned. After moving out, I pivoted to a mid-term rental (MTR) strategy. I furnished the 2 available rooms and listed them on Airbnb and Furnished Finder (with Airbnb bringing in the most traffic), while keeping two long-term tenants in the other rooms.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

I ended up selling the property at the end of the year. The hustle-to-income ratio just didn't make sense for me anymore; I was driving 40 minutes from home after a full day of work just to clean, restock, and prep for the next check-in. I didn’t have the automation or systems in place to run a remote MTR efficiently at the time. If i could have done it all over again, i would of never left the property and managed it locally.