Finding House Hack Deals in Portland Market

Portland, Oregon
First-Time Home Buyer
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Finding House Hack Deals in Portland Market

Chase Stewart
Portland, OR · Member since 2022 · 3 posts · 2 votes

I live in Portland, OR, and am looking for my first house hack. My initial goal was to find a duplex or SFR to rent out so I could live for free. As I look more into the Portland metro area market, I am having trouble getting the preliminary numbers to work. When comparing the cost of homes with potential rents (using BiggerPockets rent estimator), I am struggling to find a place where the rental income can actually cover the mortgage, let alone have positive cash flow. The main properties in my price range are 4-bed SFR's where I could rent out the other three rooms, but I would still be paying a fair amount of the mortgage (as well as maintenance, capex, etc.). I am not sure how accurate the online rent estimators are, but before I talk with real estate agents I want to figure out if my expectations are too high.

Anyone who may have experience in the Portland market, is it usually difficult to find properties with decent cash flow? Are my expectations of finding a house where I can 'live for free' unrealistic, or do I just need to work harder to find the right deals? I have only been in Portland for about a year and a half, and this will be my first real estate purchase. Any insight or advice would greatly be appreciated! Thanks in advance. 

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Jonathan StonePro Member
Rental Property Investor · Camas, WA · Member since 2020 · 284 posts · 202 votes
4y

@Chase Stewart - are you looking in a specific area within Portland for your own purposes or are you considering surrounding areas like @Dave Skow pointed out.  If you are looking in Portland proper or even Multnomah County make sure you are up to date on the latest tenant laws as well before you pursue too far.

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  • Jake Wiley
    Investor · Charleston, SC · Member since 2022 · 233 posts · 198 votes
    4y

    @Chase Stewart don't be worried about getting out there and making some phone calls.    Look online for other room rentals in the area you are looking.    You should feel confident in your decision, but the only way to do that is to really dig in and ask the right questions.     If you find some rooms for rent, call the numbers and ask the questions you have.     You can be honest and say you are looking to do the same and would like to have a candid conversation with someone that is already doing it before you jump in.   I'll bet you get some good answers and you might even make a friend or two.    

    How much are the rooms going for, how many calls are they getting, where do they advertise, and how do they screen?     

    Good luck and don't get discouraged.   

    1Reply
  • Zac Lindquist
    Real Estate Agent · Portland, OR · Member since 2017 · 85 posts · 37 votes
    4y
    Quote from @Chase Stewart:

    I live in Portland, OR, and am looking for my first house hack. My initial goal was to find a duplex or SFR to rent out so I could live for free. As I look more into the Portland metro area market, I am having trouble getting the preliminary numbers to work. When comparing the cost of homes with potential rents (using BiggerPockets rent estimator), I am struggling to find a place where the rental income can actually cover the mortgage, let alone have positive cash flow. The main properties in my price range are 4-bed SFR's where I could rent out the other three rooms, but I would still be paying a fair amount of the mortgage (as well as maintenance, capex, etc.). I am not sure how accurate the online rent estimators are, but before I talk with real estate agents I want to figure out if my expectations are too high.

    Anyone who may have experience in the Portland market, is it usually difficult to find properties with decent cash flow? Are my expectations of finding a house where I can 'live for free' unrealistic, or do I just need to work harder to find the right deals? I have only been in Portland for about a year and a half, and this will be my first real estate purchase. Any insight or advice would greatly be appreciated! Thanks in advance. 

    Hey Chase I'm an investor/realtor in Portland literally got started the exact way you are with house hacking a duplex. It is tough to make the numbers work unless you have a big down payment or get creative and house hack extra rooms in a SFH like you mentioned. 

    One thing David Greene talks a lot about is buying in appreciating markets (which Portland definitely is) and if you're able to break even/make a little negative cashflow and just ride the appreciation you'll still be building wealth.

    Not sure if this is a strategy you have thought of or that would work for you personally, but if you need help with neighborhoods maybe even some slightly outside of Portland I've lived here my whole life and can answer any questions you have!

    1Reply
  • Conner Olsen
    Real Estate Agent · Austin, TX · Member since 2020 · 1k+ posts · 941 votes
    4y

    @Chase Stewart I'm in Austin and ran into a similar problem finding anything that would work. I changed my strategy from renting yearly to renting monthly. Now my rent revenue is doubled and I'll cashflow $1,500/month on my duplex after I move out. I'd look into monthly furnished rentals in your area!

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  • Chase Stewart
    OP
    Portland, OR · Member since 2022 · 3 posts · 2 votes
    4y

    @Conner Olsen, are you referring to tenants on month-to-month leases? Or are you talking about having different tenants come and go each month, similar to short term rentals like Airbnb?

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  • Conner Olsen
    Real Estate Agent · Austin, TX · Member since 2020 · 1k+ posts · 941 votes
    4y

    @Chase Stewart I'm referring to medium term rentals. My property is furnished and rented on airbnb for a minimum of 30 days. This gets me around my city's STR laws and reduced vacancies.

    0Reply
  • Dave Skow
    Lender · Seattle, WA · Member since 2014 · 2k+ posts · 899 votes
    4y

    @Chase Stewart- Portlands a higher cost marketplace ....if possible - consider some  areas that are a bit  outside the  area 

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  • Jonathan StonePro Member
    Rental Property Investor · Camas, WA · Member since 2020 · 284 posts · 202 votes
    4y

    @Chase Stewart - are you looking in a specific area within Portland for your own purposes or are you considering surrounding areas like @Dave Skow pointed out.  If you are looking in Portland proper or even Multnomah County make sure you are up to date on the latest tenant laws as well before you pursue too far.

    2Reply
  • Chase Stewart
    OP
    Portland, OR · Member since 2022 · 3 posts · 2 votes
    4y

    @Jonathan Stone and @Dave Skow, I work in Central Portland so I have primarily been looking in the east side of city proper; however, I have been slowly widening my search. Thanks for the tips, I have started to look into the screening and rent increase laws in Portland. Any other things I should be looking out for? Seems like when you are house hacking your primary residence, it is a bit easier to get out of some of the strict Portland landlord laws.

    1Reply
  • Jonathan StonePro Member
    Rental Property Investor · Camas, WA · Member since 2020 · 284 posts · 202 votes
    4y
    Quote from @Chase Stewart:

    @Jonathan Stone and @Dave Skow, I work in Central Portland so I have primarily been looking in the east side of city proper; however, I have been slowly widening my search. Thanks for the tips, I have started to look into the screening and rent increase laws in Portland. Any other things I should be looking out for? Seems like when you are house hacking your primary residence, it is a bit easier to get out of some of the strict Portland landlord laws.

    Yes,  Being in the same property does help you quite a bit with the ability to have more say in the choice of tenant.  Don't forget though if you move out and hold the property that would also go away.  I don't own in the City of Portland so I can't tell you much more.  I have heard the stories of excessive costs for not renewing a tenant's lease, to help them afford to leave, but haven't lived it.
    1Reply
  • Jonathan StonePro Member
    Rental Property Investor · Camas, WA · Member since 2020 · 284 posts · 202 votes
    4y

    @Brad Hammond @Mary M and @Steve Morris have had a few posts over the last 2 years about the laws within Portland proper.  Maybe they can add some of that knowledge here or you can search up their posts.

    0Reply
  • Zac Lindquist
    Real Estate Agent · Portland, OR · Member since 2017 · 85 posts · 37 votes
    4y
    Quote from @Chase Stewart:

    @Jonathan Stone and @Dave Skow, I work in Central Portland so I have primarily been looking in the east side of city proper; however, I have been slowly widening my search. Thanks for the tips, I have started to look into the screening and rent increase laws in Portland. Any other things I should be looking out for? Seems like when you are house hacking your primary residence, it is a bit easier to get out of some of the strict Portland landlord laws.


     Before we sold our Duplex in Milwaukie, we got all of the lease forums from the Renters Association of Oregon. Their number is 503-254-4723. We did still have to go through a cash for keys situation which has left a bad taste in my mouth, but we were self-managing at the time and will not be moving forward. I did speak with a great PM through the Renters Association if you need a recommendation for one. 

    0Reply
  • Roarke Van Brunt
    Contractor · Portland OR · Member since 2021 · 39 posts · 24 votes
    4y

    @Chase Stewart Hang in there. My spouse and I are in the same place as you and its pretty tough right now if you don't have all cash to swoop in on some fixers, or a large down payment to make the monthly's work. 

    We are trying to keep cash in hand and go the FHA route on a duplex, and keep that down payment low. The plan is to ride the appreciation/rent increases for a year or two until it cash flows on its own. We have the W-2's to make the payment on the whole thing so the risk for us is pretty low. We just want it to cash flow after a year or two so we can go buy another duplex our house at that time, have two years of rental revenue to help use for the DTI with the banks so the next loan is easy to get with our W-2 income.

    We did entertain the house hacking idea, just wasn't our 1st option. One thing we did look at were properties that had 3-4 bedrooms but also had an RV/Trailer parking area.  Portland allows you to do that as additional rental space as of last year, see post linked below. This made the numbers work on some houses that were just outside the bounds of positive cash flow. Most RV parks in the area are on wait-lists currently with lots renting between $650-900 a month including water, sewer, garbage, tenant paying electric. So if you have the space and a hookup you can probably get somebody quickly with a little online advertising work especially if you share wifi as part of the deal. Just make sure it has hookups (permitted hookups, sewer specifically) and the vehicle would not jut out in front of the home.
    https://accessorydwellings.org...

    Also, I use https://www.portlandmaps.com/ to verify jurisdiction you might find a house with a Portland address that is unincorporated Multnomah or in one of the other nearby city's. If so the Portland Housing Bureau becomes a non issue with those HUGE relocation fees.

    I recommend you talk to Brad Hammond https://bradhammond.kw.com/ he works with first time investors who are looking to do what you do and help them find the deal that works.  He is also here active on Bigger Pockets.
    1Reply
  • Alex Mora
    New to Real Estate · Portland, OR · Member since 2020 · 49 posts · 27 votes
    4y

    Hey @Chase Stewart I'm a current house hacker in the area and owned a property in Portland, Multnomah County to be exact. House hacking is my niche actually and I know it very well. When it comes to Portland, or just the Portland Metro area. It is extremely difficult to find a property that will cash flow ( money left over to you after all expenses etc). A few people on this thread touched on this, but you are going to have to look at the deals differently in order for it to make sense. Oregon has been an appreciate state for a solid few years and even more recently. If you are looking into Portland, and the property is within Multnomah county, it's going to be difficult to get caught up with the market rate due to the laws in place and just in general Multnomah isn't great for "landlords" . However that leaves room for investors that are OK with that type of market, when others rather not be in that type of market.

    I would be more than happy to be a resource for you when it comes to this specific type of investing, house hackers gotta stick together !

    Feel free to message me anytime.

    2Reply
  • Kelly Asmus
    Real Estate Broker · Portland, OR · Member since 2018 · 123 posts · 71 votes
    4y

    The market inventory is tight for Portland, that will change. I tell all my clients - patience and perseverance right now. Keep looking and keep making offers that pencil for you. Be smart with your numbers. Don't overbid just to win. You win on the actual purchase making sense, so if you have to wait, do so. 

    Being on these forums, talking to people and networking also brings deals. I have several clients who house hack and we exclusively target deals that have been on the market for more than 30 days. Right now, there is no need to target any property new to the market - that will change too. But that's the reality right now. 

    Reach out if I can help you. 

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