The Side of House-Hacking No One Talks About

[Matthew Masoud]

So house hack is often touted as the best way to get started in real estate. I wholeheartedly agree. There is a real downside though that I did not consider when I got started in real estate many years back.

My first deal was a house hack triplex in Cincinnati, OH (C- neighborhood). I was 22 at the time. I lived in one unit and rented out the other two. I was making $300/month AND living for free.

I had one tenant who didn't pay rent for the month of February. It got to the 3rd, the 5th, 9th, and the rent was still not paid. He used every excuse in the book. He was always loud and smoking in the unit so I thought alright it's time for him to go.

Finally, on the 11th, while on my lunch break, I call him and tell him I'm filing for eviction. He goes ballistic. "F*** You, you don't know who I am. I'm a real N****, I'm gonna put you in your place when you get back."

He then hangs up the phone. I immediately call my girlfriend and tell her to pack a bag for me and her, I pick her up and stayed in a hotel for a few days.

I had to pay someone to post the 3-day notice because I did not feel comfortable going on to the property.

He ended up moving out after he got the notice to appear from the court. 

In hindsight, I probably should have called the police, but I was young and didn't think they'd do anything.

The point is, managing tenants you live near can be a real pain. House hacking does have its drawbacks.

[V.G Jason]

That's a C- neighborhood problem, not a house hacking problems. That's also **** property management problem. Even if your house hacking, don't expose yourself. Get the house in a trust and let that trust be ahead of an LLC, and let the LLC contract a mangement company to manage the other side. Sure you'd lose $100/mo, but you're not exposed and you're not dealing with this mess.

But this is totally not a "house hacking" downside, a house hacking downside is having to share a roof(not walls) with a stranger. Cool when you're young, but as a father with 3 kids now....forget that.