House Hacking Technicalities

Spokane, WA · Member since 2020 · 56 posts · 30 votes

Hey there!

So I'm very willing to house hack to the extreme(ish). So I normally just sleep in my truck anyways, and all I need is a small office space and a bathroom. Can I house hack, sleep in my truck in the backyard, and utilize a tiny garage area for an office while the main house is rented out? This would still be my primary residence. Any thoughts?

Deals in California are few and far between, and I am willing to do any means necessary to make a house hack work.

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Andrew PostellPro Member

Lender · Fort Worth, TX · Member since 2016 · 8k+ posts · 6k+ votes

@Jacob Zivanovich why not just sleep in the bed? If you purchase a 4 bedroom home, you could sleep in one bedroom and rent out the other rooms. What's wrong with doing it that way? There's plenty of people that live in the "garage apartment" even. Lots of ways to do this without having to "live in your truck".

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Andrew PostellPro Member
Lender · Fort Worth, TX · Member since 2016 · 8k+ posts · 6k+ votes
3y
@Jacob Zivanovich why not just sleep in the bed? If you purchase a 4 bedroom home, you could sleep in one bedroom and rent out the other rooms. What's wrong with doing it that way? There's plenty of people that live in the "garage apartment" even. Lots of ways to do this without having to "live in your truck".
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Benjamin Sulka
Cleveland, OH · Member since 2022 · 811 posts · 578 votes
3y
Hey Jacob!
That would be a unique way to go about house hacking! Would your plan be to build a bathroom in the garage area? Or are you looking for properties that already have something like this?
What would you do about cooking and eating?
I'm genuinely curious. If you could make something like this work, I genuinely don't see why not. I don't know if living in the garage constitutes as "owner occupant" from a lenders perspective but I'd love to be enlightened.
All the best!
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Julien J.
Investor · CO · Member since 2016 · 757 posts · 1k+ votes
3y
I like the go-getter attitude!
I don't see why not. I always recommend playing out the numbers under multiple scenarios.
Charging by the room can be quite lucrative, sometimes more so then renting the full unit on a longterm lease. Come to think of it, you could run an short term rental to maximize profits.
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Ryan ThomsonBusiness Member
Real Estate Agent · Colorado Springs, CO · Member since 2018 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
3y
@Jacob Zivanovich yeah you can! Go get it Jacob. Love the hustle.
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Jacob ZivanovichPro Member
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Spokane, WA · Member since 2020 · 56 posts · 30 votes
3y
@Benjamin Sulka

Yeah I'd probably just have the garage be a type of live-in rehab. That would make the most sense, then slowly build it out. Still trying to make sense of it haha.

For cooking and eating, I have no problem using a camping stove or crockpots. I also have a portable fridge for food storage.

For the bathroom, I have a couple ideas. Either utilize a friends house that live in the same town, porta-potties haha, or build out the bathroom first in the garage ADU.

I lived on the road for about 8 months and can live really minimally, it's also just kind of funny to me.
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Jacob ZivanovichPro Member
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Spokane, WA · Member since 2020 · 56 posts · 30 votes
3y
@Julien J.
Thanks! Yeah my plan is to utilize only Medium or Short term tenants to maximize profits, a lot of the numbers don't work out if I use Long Term tenants. Definitely still a work in progress.
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Gregory SchwartzBusiness Member
Rental Property Investor · College Station, TX · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
3y
@Jacob Zivanovich have you read Set For Life? Scott slept on his couch while Airbnb'ing out the bedroom. Sleeping in your truck is an extreme option but is the juice worth the squeeze.
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Jacob ZivanovichPro Member
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Spokane, WA · Member since 2020 · 56 posts · 30 votes
3y
@Andrew Postell
You're making some good points haha. The garage apartment is probably going to be the answer, I just love thinking of the ways I can maximize what I'm trying to achieve.
There's also just an enjoyment in trying to live in a harsh condition that others wouldn't even think about in order to attain their goals.
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Jacob ZivanovichPro Member
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Spokane, WA · Member since 2020 · 56 posts · 30 votes
3y
@Gregory Schwartz
Oh yeah! Reading it for the second time right now, actually. That's awesome, yeah definitely have to weigh the pros and cons.
Love hearing examples of people doing something similar.
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Edward Dean
Real Estate Agent · San Diego · Member since 2019 · 91 posts · 52 votes
3y
CA is very ADU friendly now. If you have the funds it sounds like getting a bathroom into the garage ASAP makes the most sense with a plan to convert the garage down the road. I've heard cheap 24/7 gym memberships are the way to go in the meantime if you need shower access right now so you could focus on renting the main house first to get your income up. You can then get something basic into the garage (simple toilet, sink, shower) to make living bearable for you, get the rental stabilized, then work on converting the garage fully for a secondary unit. If you are looking at short to mid term rental lengths, those types of tenants probably won't care as much that the garage is unavailable. If it works out, rinse and repeat!
Best of luck!
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Dan H.Pro Member
Investor · Poway, CA · Member since 2015 · 7k+ posts · 8k+ votes
3y
Quote from @Edward Dean:

CA is very ADU friendly now. If you have the funds it sounds like getting a bathroom into the garage ASAP makes the most sense with a plan to convert the garage down the road. I've heard cheap 24/7 gym memberships are the way to go in the meantime if you need shower access right now so you could focus on renting the main house first to get your income up. You can then get something basic into the garage (simple toilet, sink, shower) to make living bearable for you, get the rental stabilized, then work on converting the garage fully for a secondary unit. If you are looking at short to mid term rental lengths, those types of tenants probably won't care as much that the garage is unavailable. If it works out, rinse and repeat!
Best of luck!

Similar idea to the gym membership for showers, etc but even cheaper is a 1 unit PE course credit/no credit (I believe it is ~$50/unit) at a community college. Open early, close late, ~$50 for 4 months. I suspect no one will ever check that you are a student but for that price you might as well be a student in case they check.
By the way my son in living out of his car at UCSB. He has a room but sublet it to someone that does not. My son has access to the bathroom, living room, kitchen and pockets some money for sleeping in his car (His car has a bed). My 20 year old son has saved 6 digits and has hardly worked by being frugal. I had him read rich dad poor dad when he was still in high school. he understands the concept of having your money do the work and that a penny saved is worth more than a penny earned. He has a good understanding of how money works and how to create it.
Good luck
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Jake AndronicoBusiness Member
Realtor · Reno, NV · Member since 2019 · 1k+ posts · 938 votes
3y
@Dan H.
Such a great, inspiring story. Congratulations to him. I went to UCSB and my parents met there.
Go Gauchos!!
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Jake AndronicoBusiness Member
Realtor · Reno, NV · Member since 2019 · 1k+ posts · 938 votes
3y
@Jacob Zivanovich
"I am willing to do any means necessary to make a house hack work".
So powerful. You will go very far my man. That's all I needed to hear.
At one point I was renting out half of my room to my 68 year old co-worker with a curtain.
The other 4 rooms were rented out to college students. Not shockingly, they did not mix very well.... especially during COVID!
After moving out my girlfriend and I lived in a trailer that we renovated to save on rent (was all in only about $250-300 per month each).
After this winter we had to move into an apartment, but the savings were well worth it.
Living in a car is definitely more extreme. Mad respect to you!!
415-233-1796
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Jacob ZivanovichPro Member
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Spokane, WA · Member since 2020 · 56 posts · 30 votes
3y
@Edward Dean
Yeah I was wondering if it's possible to start with only a bathroom, then continue to build the ADU down the road when I have more funds. Nice to hear other people's answers, gives me confirmation on what I'm thinking.
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Jacob ZivanovichPro Member
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Spokane, WA · Member since 2020 · 56 posts · 30 votes
3y
@Dan H.
That's rad to hear he's sleeping in his car for subleasing haha, so cool. Great idea on the community college, there's one that's about 10 min driving away.
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Jacob ZivanovichPro Member
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Spokane, WA · Member since 2020 · 56 posts · 30 votes
3y
@Jake Andronico
Haha sharing a room like that is also intense, right on. Thanks for sharing man!
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Dan H.Pro Member
Investor · Poway, CA · Member since 2015 · 7k+ posts · 8k+ votes
3y
Quote from @Jacob Zivanovich:

@Dan H.
That's rad to hear he's sleeping in his car for subleasing haha, so cool. Great idea on the community college, there's one that's about 10 min driving away.

The bed in my son’s car. He sublet his room at $1600 and is paying $350 to use common area, bathroom, etc (everything but the bedroom). So he is “making” $1250 by sleeping in his car.
The bed has 2 benches on either side for passengers and the sleep platform slides into the center at floor level. It is not the greatest mattress. Definitely a young person’s strategy. I am proud that he is doing this to obtain some money.
He plans on using some of the money he gets from subletting his room to upgrade the suspension on an 80 series Land Cruiser.
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Jacob ZivanovichPro Member
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Spokane, WA · Member since 2020 · 56 posts · 30 votes
3y
@Dan H.
Right on!! So rad. Here's my setup I made with my buddies, been sleeping in my truck for over a year now. Don't see why I can't apply this to house hacking!
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Julien J.
Investor · CO · Member since 2016 · 757 posts · 1k+ votes
3y
@Jacob Zivanovich

@Dan H.
Thanks for sharing, love it!
0 Reply
Conner Olsen
Real Estate Agent · Austin, TX · Member since 2020 · 1k+ posts · 941 votes
3y
Quote from @Jacob Zivanovich:

Hey there!
So I'm very willing to house hack to the extreme(ish). So I normally just sleep in my truck anyways, and all I need is a small office space and a bathroom. Can I house hack, sleep in my truck in the backyard, and utilize a tiny garage area for an office while the main house is rented out? This would still be my primary residence. Any thoughts?
Deals in California are few and far between, and I am willing to do any means necessary to make a house hack work.

You can if you want! I have a friend that is military and only sleeps in his house 4 days/month because he's always on base. That house is his primary residence though.
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Jacob ZivanovichPro Member
OP
Spokane, WA · Member since 2020 · 56 posts · 30 votes
3y
@Conner Olsen
Good to know! Yeah, it seems that work/lifestyle can play a big role on how many days you're actually at the property.
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