1st time house hacking cash flow

[Keegan Mraz]

What's a good amount of expected cash flow to look for, for a first time investor looking to house hacking a 2-4 Multi-Family Unit?

[Joey Banasihan]

Hey @Keegan Mraz — great question, and kudos for leaning into house hacking early on. My wife and I have used house hacking as our main investing strategy, and I’ll be honest: early cash flow isn’t always the main benefit.

A lot of first-time house hackers expect strong cash flow right away, but it’s more realistic to think of it as cost offsetting. The big win is living for cheap (or free), while letting tenants cover most of your mortgage — which helps you save faster for the next one.

Our first house hack didn't start cash flowing until about 4.5 years in — but because we bought something with value-add potential and did some renovations, we were able to build equity and later tap into it with a HELOC. That's what helped us keep moving forward and continue to leave a trail of rentals behind us.

So instead of asking, “How much cash flow?”, maybe ask:
“How much of my living expenses can I eliminate while building equity I can later leverage?”

Good luck with the first house hack, I definitely agree a small multi-family is a good play!