Is it fair to be tired of house-hacking SFH's?

Question

I've been house hacking for almost 4 years in 2 different single family homes. I've essentially been living for free or very cheap now for these years. I have definitely piled up some equity in both houses and currently now rent out my 1st house hack to a family who are great tenants so that first 2 year house hack was a great success. I now live in one and starting to get tired of living with and recruiting "random" people to rent out rooms. People coming and going, using my $700-800 / room offering to stay here to live cheaply in either a housing transition, summer internship, job transition, etc. I feel like it doesn't get talked about much that it's not easy to recruit people who are clean, quiet, don't complain much, fridge space, cooking space, parking, utility usage, etc. I'm 27 now and itching to just get my own living space. House hacking is a great way to start in investing but I feel like I want/deserve to reap the benefits of my 4 year sacrifice and get my own living space but not renting. Ideally find a duplex or triplex and still house hack but just have my own space. I don't make much at my W-2 so honestly would be hard to qualify for a good duplex in a nice area. Most of the duplex's I'm seeing are in rough neighborhoods or very old and run down from tired landlords. I've thought about the idea of even buying a SFH and building an ADU on it but need to find a property with enough land to be approved from a zoning/setback standpoint and then would need to find how to finance the ADU build.

Regardless has anyone been in a similar situation where they've felt "burnt out" with house hacking? When did you decide that you've done your time with co-living and eventually just bought your own living space?

Henry T. · Answer

interviewing possible roommates is definitely swimming in murky waters. Most of those I knew, and didn't worry too much about their responsibility. Once you're financially secure you can move away from it. You're doing great and congrats on your getting ahead. That's how it's done. I dont think the burnout ever goes away, whether its roommates or tenants in general, and with all this anti landlord stuff its even more stressful today. My tenants know I'm on the edge. "one little thing, sold" I tell them, but I've been going over 40 years now. Look at me sideways and I'll sell that building right out from under ya! haha! joking really. Keep rockin!

Nicholas L. · Answer

@Ryan Duphorn

short answer - of course it is. based on what you wrote, you're already way ahead of the game.

you'll 'reap the benefit' as you'll be building equity in those properties no matter what you do next.

Rick Albert · Answer

We are currently on our second house hack here in Los Angeles. My first one I had a roommate and this second one we lived in one unit and rented out the other (and have since switched). In my first house hack when my roommate moved out for a little bit I lived on my own (I could afford it). I absolutely loved it. Having the privacy was nice.

We had converted our garage into an ADU. My wife and I had our first kid last year and ready to upgrade. But, like you, are missing some keys things in our current home that would mean no more house hacking.

I would explore the FHA 203(k) loan and convert the garage into an ADU. Then either live in the ADU and rent out the main house or vice versa. When you design the ADU, think about privacy for everyone (most don't).

You aren't necessarily burning out, you are just changing lifestyles and that's okay. It really comes down to your personal finances.

Brandon Spurlock · Answer

Hey Ryan, I've never personally house hacked, but have helped clients to buy properties for that purpose. I think it's totally understandable to feel tired of it. Sounds like you're getting some great feedback on this so far, especially regarding the scale between comfort and profitability.

You mentioned having some good equity. I've got a lender who works in my office who has begun offering HELOCs on investment properties, which is hard to find. Perhaps you could pull some equity, or refinance when rates drop, to build a good down payment to go get a duplex in the Fan or Museum District? I'm not generally a fan of using HELOCs as down payments, but trying to help you think creatively.

With Richmond's restrictions on short-term rentals, I'd look hard at getting a duplex in a great location, live in one side (maybe with a roommate if you have someone you like), and then do a furnished mid-term rental on the other side to maximize cash flow. Honestly, I think you could even do a short-term rental on the other side, and still be above the law as it pertains to STR regulations in the city.

Happy to chat more if it's helpful, shoot me a PM if so.

Nicole Heasley Beitenman · Answer

I house hacked a SFH for 3 years. By year 3, I was also tired of it. When I first started, I was fresh out of college and coming from a 700 SF apartment to a 1,400 SF house. It felt like there was plenty of space for everyone. By the end, I was also tired of having roommates. I wasn't in my early-mid 20's anymore, and I just didn't want to share anymore. I ended up moving in with my now husband, but I would have started looking for a duplex if he wasn't in the picture.

Alex Suarez · Answer

House hacking has been our primary way to live for the past 5 years as well. We bought a townhouse and rented out the rooms while we stayed in one.

We bought a SFH a couple years ago where we lived in one section and rented out a portion of the other side of the house. We had our first baby a year ago and have since switched our strategy since we don’t want to live with tenants while we grow our family.

The SFH we sectioned off the house so we have our own side and the renters have their own. We're looking at buying another property and will do the same where we will have our own space but still in a way "house hack" where we have other sections of the property rented out. It's a step up from people living in your space while still getting the benefits of house hacking and keeping expenses low since babies aren't cheap!

Totally get being over living that way though. Nothing wrong with switching it up to make your living situation feel more manageable. I think you could do it in a similar way where you can still house hack to keep your costs low but upgrade your living situation.

Alecia Loveless · Answer

@Ryan Duphorn I house hacked rooms for about 25 years. For the past 5 or so I’ve lived in one side of a duplex.

There’s definitely a point that you find yourself in anting to move past the rent by the room strategy.

If you still want to build your portfolio look for a duplex or tri plex and live in one unit and rent the others.

This will still offset the cost of living and you’ll regain a lot of your privacy.

We rarely hear our tenant, occasionally if she slams a cabinet, and the bathrooms back up to each other so we can hear the toilet flush occasionally if we’re in the bathroom. Other than that we maybe pass each other in our vehicles once every 10 days.

It’s super private and especially if you can find something with separate entrances you’d likely be fine with a multi family instead of a SFH.

Aaron Zimmerman · Answer

I think that's a pretty reasonable thing especially if there's a lot of transitory people. As David Greene mentions there's a scale between comfort and profitability. The more comfort, the less profitable. That being said, buying a duplex or triplex is a better choice in my opinion as you can still have your living space and reduce your housing expense (albeit not as much). You can get creative with how you use the other 1-3 units whether it be short term rentals, medium term rentals, or long term rentals.

Jules Aton · Answer

Living frugally has benefits and if done correctly there will come a point you no longer need to be that frugal. I'm older and lived with roommates early on but they were roommates not rando strangers I didn't know. Hats off to you and the landlords who do the rent a room thing but for sure don't feel guilty if you have grown out of that gig.

Payton Haight · Answer

Hey Ryan, that is awesome that you have been able to take advantage of house-hacking for the past 4 years. Totally understandable that it would grow tiring sharing your space with a rotation of random strangers. It has been 10 years since I have had roommates - not something most people want to do for an extended period of time. My wife is not on board with roommates these days so we are house-hacking in a duplex now.

I know you said you do not make a lot at your W2, but would you be able to save up a larger down payment to get in to a duplex, triplex, or quad in a good location? Depending on your loan, you should be able to use the rents from the other units to help qualify. I don't know the numbers for your area, but I would think buying a SFH and then getting the financing to build an ADU would be more difficult than getting in to a 2-4 unit.

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