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House Hacking

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Jessica Abou
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House Hacking by Creating Multiple Units from a Single Family

Jessica Abou
Posted Jan 19 2023, 16:10

I'm struggling to find information on my vision for my next real estate investment. I'd like to buy a large single family pool home in South FL close to the beach to live in. My strategy is to create, ideally, two 1/1 units with exterior entrances in which I can rent out and live in the main house, maybe a 2/2. I eventually would like to get an RV with hookups to park on the side of the house and rent that, as well. Later, I'd move and be able to rent the whole thing as a STR or MTR. I will also have my current personal home, that I can rent out as a LTR. My goal is to have every property work for me. If you've done this, I'd love to hear from you? Are there some hurdles I haven't thought about? Will this hurt the resale value later? Are there reasons this isn't a good idea?

I know I'd need enough parking for every unit. All units would share utilities, as a single family home. What am I not thinking about? I don't hear this strategy discussed often. I personally love hosting and think it would be amazing to have the ability to be more hands on with my rental property. I would enjoy meeting my guests and maybe even cleaning my own units, when possible. My current STR is a cabin in NE GA 12 hours away, so its a real challenge.

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Jeff Copeland
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Tampa Bay/St Petersburg, FL
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Jeff Copeland
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Tampa Bay/St Petersburg, FL
Replied Jan 19 2023, 16:20

Zoning will likely be your biggest hurdle. Most cities will not permit multifamily development in neighborhoods zoned for single family homes.

However...this concept is not too far removed from the coliving trend we are seeing in many markets. 

  • Broker FL (#BK3326487)

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Jennifer Moraski
  • Leavenworth, WA
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Jennifer Moraski
  • Leavenworth, WA
Replied Jan 23 2023, 08:20

We are in the process of something similar. Bought a house as our primary residence with an unfinished basement. Remodeled the main house and living here now. Basement is being built out as a separate 2 bed/1 bath unit that we'll use as an LTR (the city we are in is not a big STR draw). And we were recently approached to rent out the detached garage. Eventually we'll move and rent out the main house too. We also have a travel trailer on our property that we rent out, but not on our property. We deliver it to local campgrounds. There may be local regulations around storing that on your property and someone living in it, so check on that before purchasing. We also lived in the trailer while we remodeled the main house.

I'd recommend starting with a specific market and then understand the zoning, neighborhoods, prices and STR regulations in that area. We chose our city because the housing costs were lower, zoning was more friendly to multi-family and there was more inventory. Then start looking with houses that have expandability: larger lot, garage you could convert or add an ADU. I'm guessing basements aren't common in FL. 😀 You'll soon figure out if those exist and how to look for them. You may find duplexes or triplexes, but those were harder to find in our area.

What you envision is doable, but take one step at a time and focus on a specific city or even neighborhood. We started this journey almost 2 years ago so it can take a long time.


Good luck!



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Jessica Abou
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Jessica Abou
Replied Jan 23 2023, 15:06

Thank you so much for responding! There are multi units in South Florida, but not in areas I would like to live. I'm trying to find a single-family home closer to my job, which will also be closer to everything that draws people here. I looked at a duplex that actually had three trailers on the property that they rented. I will have to look into regulations, but I'm thinking there aren't any. I'm looking in areas that do not have a HOA's, so that will also help. I'm seeking homes with multiple outside entrances and lots of parking. I've been looking into this since last summer. I'm trying to learn this market really well.

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Account Closed
Replied May 29 2023, 02:19

Thanks for sharing! I'm looking to do something similar. Just added an exterior door to the master bedroom and will be airbnbing that starting this month. Have plans drafted for an attached garage conversion + detached ADU. Only thing I'm debating really is whether I want to convert the bonus room in the main house into a studio by adding a wall and a bathroom. It would remove backyard access for the main house but would still be a normal sized 2 BR, 2 BA remaining. Part of why I'm concerned also is bc I don't think I can fit 5 cars easily in my front yard (I am on a corner lot, which helps, though) after expanding the driveway. I wasn't too concerned about this due to ample street parking, but found out street sweeping is both sides of street 2 days a month :-( and there's nowhere anywhere near they can temporarily park while street cleaning take place, which is a major bummer

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Ray Hage
  • Investor
  • Fort Lauderdale, FL
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Ray Hage
  • Investor
  • Fort Lauderdale, FL
Replied May 29 2023, 02:59

@Jessica Abou I have done this exact house-hack with my SFH in Fort Lauderdale. What you will have to do is find the right house for you that also has the right lay out. In my case, all I needed to add was 1 internal door to easily separate the house. I had a tenant for about 2.5 years but he moved out last month and I will find another. Currently, looking at a nice RV/Trailer to have someone rent it and live on the property. I could give some more tips if needed but it sounds like you are pretty much got it figured out.

Regarding your specific questions. One hurdle is noise and being respectful like any shared home situation. I don't think it will hurt my resale value (not that I plan to sell and this potentially could be the last house I buy for myself). If you want to connect, we can talk further.

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Jessica Abou
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Jessica Abou
Replied May 29 2023, 04:40

Thank you for responding!  That’s awesome!  Where are you located?  Did you have any zoning or permit issues?  Parking is definitely something I am considering while looking for a home!  Can you create a new back entrance for the main home of you convert the other space?

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Andre Galaviz
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  • Rental Property Investor
  • Denver, CO
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Andre Galaviz
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  • Rental Property Investor
  • Denver, CO
Replied May 29 2023, 16:10

My wife and I just split a ranch style home into two units. We have a 3/2 upstairs with front door access, which we have rented via Airbnb and Furnished Finder. and a 2/2 downstairs with garage access, which we are living in currently. Our plan is to move out and repeat this process. The thing we had to be mindful of (we live in Colorado) was the number of unrelated occupants. Luckily our area and the area we are moving to next allows five unrelated people to live in the same dwelling. 

I would say talking with our contractor opened our minds a lot. We learned that we could do a lot more than we thought we could with the downstairs space and that was a game changer for us! Our lower level remodel is awesome, but now we can't wait to do something similar in a new area!