My Tips for buying 1st House Hack!

[Jermaine Lindsay]

Good Day BP Fam,

I’m new to investing but I wanted to share my buying strategy for the 1st house that I’m currently hacking. Some of what I share will be from things I’ve considered intentionally, and the others were after discovery from living there. Hopefully this information is helping for those starting or even those that are more experienced.

When considering buying a house you plan to hack, first be honest with yourself on what you could afford, consider your quality of life and most importantly be flexible. For myself, I work in the Metro DC area so I knew that buying there was out of my range so I looked into a market close by that can both accommodate my lifestyle and add value. That’s why I decided on Baltimore City. When I say be honest with yourself, this part of what I mean. For myself, I love to drive so the commuting I knew wouldn’t be an issue for me. After narrowing down the city, I then had to consider what neighborhood should I invest in. I had to asked; what neighborhood would both accommodate my lifestyle and again add value. I have two small dogs so I knew that I would need to be near a park for them to play but I also enjoy the pedestrian lifestyle, as I like to socialize, so what neighborhoods offer local eateries and entertaining. I found the Patterson Park area. Now lasting, what house would both again accommodate my lifestyle and add value. I found this home, that is perfectly fitting for me, that has an unfinished basement, big enough dining room for entertaining and also a parking pad in the back. Now If you live in a major city, where parking is limited, you know having a parking pad itself can be of tremendous value. So I say all this to say that location, location, location is such an important factor when you are planning to house hack. Location (What city), Location (What neighborhood), Location (Which House). Once you’ve narrowed those down, ask yourself why this home. There is a reason I kept saying the word “both” into my post because when you are house hacking you have consider both you and the “other” factor. Maybe that factor is your future roommate or your future refinance. They is plenty more I want to share on my experience and I will do those in other posts but this is just part 1 of what I wanted to share.

[Benjamin Sulka]

Jermaine, 

Thanks so much for sharing. This was super valuable for me and really put into the perspective that everyone has different circumstances and lifestyle. What works for a single guy with no wife, kids, or pets is going to be completely different than someone who has any of those. 

House hacking with a significant other emphasizes the location aspect even further. Someone who has their wife living with them would be hard pressed to convince her to live in a C or D location. 

I look forward to part 2! 

-Ben