What is a good house hack

Question

What are some key things to look for when deciding if a property will be a good house hack? Do the numbers work? Is the area safe? Stuff like that...

Scott E. · Answer

1. Is the property in an area that you would like to live in?

2. Is the property in an area that should do well with appreciation?

3. Can you buy the deal under market value (distressed, dated, etc)?

4. Will the other units pay for most (if not all) of your mortgage?

This sub-forum that you posted in is dedicated to house hacking posts. I recommend you browse that for the next couple of weeks. You'll get a lot of good information.

Daniel McDonald · Answer

The best thing about house hacking is it can be so customized to fit your wants/needs. Ask yourself what it is you're looking to get out of this. Is it free living? Better living? Just want to buy something instead of rent? That will start to make it clearer what type of property you need. For me, my goal was to get in a nicer place, but pay less, all while making sure the wife stays happy. My goal was not to live for free at any means necessary. So I wasn't going to be behind a curtain in the basement. All these decisions will require different criteria.

To start I'd say the easiest thing you can do is narrow down what places you'd ACTUALLY want/consider living in.

Christian Ehlers · Answer

Great advice all around here!

Along the same lines i'd say it depends what your goals are. Are you looking more for cashflow and true investment or just to stop renting but have a little help with the mortgage?

A good househack should be in an A or B area that will appreciate well long term and you personally should feel safe there. If you don't it's probably not likely the property goes up in value as fast as other sub-markets in your area.

Depending on your market the numbers may be very different. Around here we are lucky if we are paying less towards the mortgage than we would be renting (in the best areas), in other places you can live for free. Connect with a good agent who has househacked before.

Tatum Littleton · Answer

I believe the biggest question is how comfortable are you with being uncomfortable? I think the least desirable is to rent by the room and have to share a bathroom or something like that but the more people you can get, the more uncomfortable but also less out of your pocket. Or there is going the multi family route and having your own unit and managing the others while you live there. It all depends on where you are personally and what you want to deal with.  The questions you stated above are great to consider but there are plenty more.

The points made by Scott and Daniel are great as well! There are many different factors to consider and the good thing about it, is you can be as creative as you want and make it fit what you need/want. Of course, not all are going to work perfectly but this is real estate investing, there is plenty of work to do to find what is right for you. Good luck!

Benjamin Carver · Answer

Here's what I looked for when choosing mine:

- Nice, safe area that will get best rents, appreciation, reviews, etc.

- Nearby convenient and marketable places like stores, airport, parks, shops, etc.

- Personally I chose the cheapest most outdated property in the best neighborhood and will be doing a full cosmetic rehab along with adding a 4th bedroom and some sq ft to unfinished basement to improve resale AND rent. Great play for house hackers.

- At least 2 other bedroooms to rent out, preferably 3-5 for best cashflow

- No hoa ideally so you have OPTIONS like str, mtr, and ltr.

- If doing STR or MTR seeing others doing it nearby is helpful for proof of concept and getting accurate rents

- Avoid something weird like a 3/1 where 3 people share 1 bath.

- If married or wanting privacy, do what I did and find a split level home or one with a basement and treat it like a duplex. Or a detached garage to convert, apartment garage, ADU, or other ways to separate a space for yourself.

Glad to help answer any questions. Feel free to PM!

Bradley Buxton · Answer

I agree with what everyone said above.  Buy in a location that is appreciating fast enough if you want to move and need you sell you can. Choose a landlord friendly state.  I would highly suggest starting with a duplex. Pay market rents into an account and fix up the unit you are living in.  Then swap units to fix the other to make sure you are getting top rents.  Keep good records of the rents so when you sell you can show the income stream.

I like the Reno market because were are seeing some of the best deals on MF right now. In addition Real estate taxes don’t reassess on the sale, insurance is low and we continue to have increased in migration, jobs (no state income tax) and our own land constraint issues which prevent the market from getting overbuilt.

Benjamin Sulka · Answer

Anthony,

I'm a newbie looking to house hack just like you.

I'm looking to buy a duplex in a B-A area where my future wife is going to be comfortable living.

From a financial perspective, I'm not scrutinizing properties and looking for crazy cash flow. When house hacking, you're putting low money down and you're occupying one of the rentable units. This makes it basically impossible to cash flow, especially in a duplex. Look for a place that is going to reduce your living expenses, is the type of property you're looking for and is in a location that you want to live.

Happy House Hacking!

What is a good house hack

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