Where you can still find deals -- House Hacks

Question

Hello all, I'm an agent in Atlanta who works primarily with investors. I see a lot of posts on here asking where to look for deals and thought maybe it would be helpful to summarize what I know and what I'm seeing today. For this post, I'm going to focus on house hacking.

The most successful house hacking strategies today seem to be rent by the room or buying a house with an in law suite. 2-4 unit homes have run up in price to the point where it's difficult to find one that works. It's difficult to find a "perfect house hack" where your living expenses are exactly $0. Typically a major win is to reduce your housing expense to $500-1000/month. That way, you're still saving money on housing AND when you move out your property will be cash flow positive.

Three locations I recommend looking into:

1. Austell/Mableton/Powder Springs/Hiram/Lithia Springs -- this pocket on the NW side of town has some great deals for house hacks. You would be surprised how strong the rental demand is in these places, and the prices are very reasonable. You'll be living a little further outside of town, but there is still plenty of retail and amenities.

2. Marietta -- Deals will be a little bit harder to find, and will be more competitive. But prices are still reasonable and the location is very strong. The proximity to the perimeter office/retail centers will be a big draw, as well as downtown Marietta itself.

3. Norcross/Duluth/Lilburn/Tucker -- this pocket also has some great house hack deals. Prices will be a little bit higher, just due to proximity to the perimeter.

These neighborhoods are not by any means the only options, but they're a great place to start.

Other agents or investors, would love to hear your opinions. Where have you found good house hacks?

Ryan Thomson · Answer

Good word @Ben Firstenberg finding a house hack that cashflows right not is almost impossible in most markets. In Colorado Springs, we are also going for reducing our living expenses to less than 1k. MAYBE living for free but probably not.

The investors trying to find cashflow are missing out on all of the appreciation and loan paydown a home provides. Not to mention the house hacker avoids throwing money away on rent every month.

Great post and with easy 50% total net worth ROI returns on the low 5% down payment, house hacking is almost always a deal when compared to renting!

Ben Firstenberg · Answer

Savannah definitely has potential. I'm no expert, but my guess would be price/rent ratios aren't great due to the hype and the fact that it's still a pretty small city.

Gwinnett is definitely a place where price/rent isn't great right now. It's a very desirable place to live, so retail investors have driven prices too high. Marietta is a little better.

What kind of deal are you looking for? Feel free to reach out in DMs

Aaron Shoemaker · Answer

Hey @Ben Firstenberg, agree that house hacking is one of the only ways to make the numbers work well now, and I've done and in-law suite at my house and about 20x co-living properties (rent by the room) in Atlanta.

Basements are a key enabler for either one in Atlanta. While basement renovations aren't cheap and need to be done well, they can bring a lot of extra SF without a huge bump in price. The Druid Hills/Oakhurst/Breckinridge areas (north of Emory) are really great for this ITP, as is SW Atlanta, South Decatur, etc.

Glad to talk about these whenever helpful.

Ben Firstenberg · Answer

Thanks!

Agreed 100%. The appreciation, loan pay down and tax benefits make it such a great deal compared to renting.

Lormensky Jean · Answer

Good breakdown, and agreed that rent by the room and in law suites are carrying the house hack strategy right now. I'd add one more area to the list: southwest Atlanta.

There are gems all over this city if you thoroughly understand it and the changes happening block by block. There are pockets over there that perform extremely well, some with Beltline access, at entry prices the NW suburbs can't touch anymore. Rooms rent $650 to $850 furnished with strong demand, so the math works even at today's rates.

Real example: I picked up a 7 bedroom on that side of town at $320K that nets about $2,300 a month after everything. And on the live in side, I house hack my own place. The basement rents for $2,300 a month, which puts my out of pocket around $300 to live. That beats the $500 to $1000 target you mentioned, and it's repeatable if you buy a house with a basement or separate entrance.

The catch is you really have to know which blocks, That knowledge is the whole edge over there.

Alex Lee · Answer

For better or for worse, I'm typically looking at properties with a reasonable proximity to corporate offices. I am curious to setup mid-term rentals, but this particular is isn't top of my list.

1-4 family prices depend on area, but for now we've been looking to get close to the usual rules of thumb for BRRRR's. If it's in a top school district, one of my partners may be willing to house hack for better financing.

Alex Lee · Answer

recently went out the GA to take a look at areas. I'm still kind of torn on where to focus on. Savannah looks promising, but I'm kind of drawn to Marietta/Buford. I've been getting a bunch of stuff for Gwinnett county but the math wasn't panning out.

I'm thinking maybe I start making disrespectful offers to see if anyone is willing to sell based of investor math.

Sung Yu · Answer

Thanks for sharing. I'm currently looking for my house hack. Both on/off market. Waiting for the right one...

1. split level/basement/in-law suite style around Decatur and Gwinnett county. likely an older home, rent out rooms, expect to pay $500-1000 while living in it. I prefer to do LTR so finding an area with a strong rental demand is key...trying to close the gap between market rent and mortgage payment. Researching section 8, but it only makes sense in very small limited areas that have higher rent (mainly looking in gwinnett)

2. new construction 4/3 near commercial development under 400k. Mostly south atlanta. A lot of them have rental restrictions so LTR is the only option. Hard to find something that will cash flow even after moving out, but with these I'm mainly targeting market appreciationg over 5-10yr hold period.

Wali Rahman · Answer

Hey @Ben Firstenberg just sent you a message. Please take a look, Thanks.

Wali Rahman · Answer

Hey Arylle, just sent you a message to your inbox. Thanks.

Where you can still find deals -- House Hacks

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