Low budget House hacking in Seattle,is it possible?

[Alex Omo]

My wife and I just got approved for 400k VA loan for the Seattle area for our first home. I wanted to get started in real estate investing and I know the best way to get into right now is house hacking. With 400k it feels like the only thing I can afford are small townhouses, is it even possible to house hack in this market or should I try to wait until I can get a bigger mortgage?

[Michael Haas]

Hey @Alex Omo - first off, thanks for your service and sacrifice man, and congrats on the pre-approval! Its definitely possible under $400k, but you'll likely be outside of the city of Seattle, but still within easy commuting distance. Between Everett to the North and Tacoma to the South we've definitely had successful househacks around that price point. Rent-by-the-room will be easier to acheive than a two unit, rent by the unit "duplex" style househack, but even the duplex style could still be possible if you buy right and are willing ot put some sweat equity into the deal. Here's a list of links for HouseHacks we've closed recently around that price point to give you a better idea of the neighborhoods and styles of houses that work best for this strategy. All of these homes cashflowed with 0-5% down when fully rented:

1. 201 8th Street UNIT A/B, Sultan

2. 11005 Roseberg Avenue S, Seattle, WA 98168

3. 12209 2nd Avenue SW, Seattle

4. 12260 Des Moines Memorial Drive S, Burien

5. 15415 SE 179th Avenue, Monroe

6. 23109 25th Avenue S, Des Moines

Hope this helps - reach out to me over messages if you'd like to talk about it more, $400k isn't an easy price point to work in but with the right search criteria and team behind you, you can make it work! @Daniel Nobile is another HouseHacking military veteran that would be worth talking to, he's househacked under $400k with a VA loan in this market before as well.