Seeking Advice on House Hackings

[Benjamin Sulka]

Hey BP,

I'm seeking any advice on house hacking and personal experience from people on BiggerPockets. 

Any advice for dos and don'ts to make this strategy more successful? 

I have my plan almost completely mapped out for this year but I'm looking to fill in any gaps. 

Grateful for any responses.

-Ben, aspiring real estate investor 

[Richard Elvin]

@Benjamin Sulka I would look for a duplex/triplex/quad, easiest financing for OO without being SFH.
Personally, I wouldn't rent to anyone in my "network". Keep business and personal separate.

Buy somewhere you would want to live, for me this is a big deal. If I am comfortable in a neighborhood, then I'm more likely to understand the wants/needs of my tenants. I prefer to rent to working class vs upper class, because I understand what they're looking for in a place. My duplex was in a rental neighborhood where property lines weren't really respected, the neighbors liked to play soccer in my back yard (my lot was the biggest and flattest in the neighborhood). Some people would be offended by that, never bothered me or my tenants though. 

That's just an example to illustrate why I like buying where I'm comfortable living. The tenants that were interested in living in my place had similar expectations, family friendly, comparatively inexpensive (Not cheap/war zone), safe, and comfortable, housing. So I didn't have "the neighbors are annoying" calls. I did have calls about a psychotic tenant, inherited, never vetted by me, that harassed the other tenant because he kept "hearing people in the crawl space", but that's another story. 

Just my two cents. Take it for what it's worth. Best to you!