Aspiring House Hacker in DC/VA/MD Area

[Joe Gogal]

Hi BP Community,

First of all, I want to thank everyone for sharing their knowledge and experience with the rest of us!! I have benefitted so much from reading these forums and learning from the pros.

I am looking into rent by the room house hack opportunities in the DC area and would love to hear your thoughts.

Quick Background

I am a new investor looking to purchase my first property in 2022/2023. I started my first full time job out of college last summer and have been aggressively saving up for a down payment on a house hack. I currently work remote but may eventually need to go on client site at varying locations in DC.

What I’m looking For

From what I have read on the forums thus far, there aren’t many multi-family house hack opportunities available in DC. Given that I don’t mind living with lots of roommates, I feel that a single-family/condo rent by the room house hack in the DC area makes the most sense for me. My ultimate goal is to maximize cash flow (reduce my own out of pocket monthly payment) while still living in a decent area. I am open to living in Virginia, DC, or Maryland as long as the commute into DC is reasonable. (i.e. 1 hour or less)

High Level Numbers

I can likely obtain $500-600k worth of financing with a 5% down payment on a conventional loan. I know the DC market is expensive, but I think that should still give me enough to get a place with a few extra rooms to rent out.

Current Location Ideas

My plan is to drive the neighborhoods listed below to get a better idea of each of them and narrow my scope of locations to live (please feel free to add on any additional areas that I should consider!).

From what I've read on the forums thus far, these locations seem like they are worth looking into for a rent by the room house hack,

• · Maryland
  • Hyattsville, 3-5 bed SFH
  • College Park, 3-5 bed SFH
  • Adelphi, 3-5 bed SFH
  • Berwyn Heights, 3-5 bed SFH
  • Silver Spring, 3 bed condo, 3-4 bed SFH or townhouse
    • - Georgia Avenue corridor
  • TBD…
• · DC (Not so sure about these)
  • Riggs/Lamond Park, 3-4 Bed SFH?
  • Brookland, 3-4 Bed SFH
  • Columbia Heights, 3 bed condo
  • Warf/Navy Yard, 3 bed cond
  • TBD…
• · Virginia
  • Arlington, 3 bed Condo
  • Alexandria, 3-4 bed townhouse/SFH
  • TBD…

Questions for the Forum

1. If you had $500-600K for a rent by the room house hack in the DC area, what type of property would you purchase and where?
2. Is there any advice that you would give looking back on your own experience with purchasing your first property in the DC area?

Thank you to everyone for continuing to share your wealth of knowledge! I appreciate any thoughts or comments that you would like to provide.

-Joe

[Joaquin Camarasa]

Question 

1. Springfield/South Alexandria/Lorton are your best bets in my opinion. Solid market for renters and Virginia laws are better for landlords. Start saving cash now! The market is super competitive and if you want an SFH unless it changes dramatically you are going to need to go above appraised value and cover the appraisal gap. I bought in Springfield two years ago, I have been househacking since then and I am happy with the results.

2. If you are planning to do some renovations, make sure to estimate the costs accordingly to what you will be charged in out area.