PSA: The thing everyone seems to ignore on their journey to house hacking

[Daniel McDonald]

It's no surprise that House hacking is one of the best ways to break into real estate. I may be biased, but I'd even say it IS the best way. 

But here’s the part that doesn’t always make the Instagram reel: if your personal finances are a mess, house hacking won’t solve that—it’ll magnify it. In fact, I was better with money BEFORE I started house hacking and had to work harder at it (and still am) once I started house hacking. 

I’m talking about buying a multi-family when you don’t even know what you spent on takeout last month. Or jumping into a mortgage before you’ve ever tracked your monthly expenses. Or worse—having no savings, no budget, and thinking your tenant’s rent will fix everything.

Spoiler: it won’t.

If anything, house hacking adds new financial layers. It’s not that you need to be perfect (I'm definitely not), but you do need to be prepared. My first house hack I had a 12k surprise that nearly wiped out the money I set aside for reserves in the first 2 months of house hacking. 

So before you start scrolling Zillow and fantasizing about converting a closet into a rental unit, take the time to:

• -Build a simple budget

• -Get a handle on your credit (this will save you THOUSANDS)

• -Start a reserves fund

Thanks for coming to my TedTalk.