Is anyone house hacking in Reno, NV?

Question

Duplexes/MFH in Reno are rare, and with the ADU restrictions I’m wondering if and how people are successfully house hacking here. I’ve seen a few basement units with separate entrances, what is your situation and how did you find it?

Alexander Yates · Answer

Kristofer,Ditto to what others mentioned above. I successfully househacked by buying a 4BR SFH and renting the three basic rooms. As they say on the RE podcast, it is all about the comfort you are willing to give up. The less comfortable you need to be, the more money you can make. I lived in the master BR with my (now) wife and it certainly wasn't fun, but we were able to make it work for long enough to maximize the benefits. Then remodeled the property and sold as a live-in flip with good (untaxed) profit. As has been said, the MF market here is very slim. I would recommend building relationships with wholesalers to find off-market deals. Even then, it is still more of a long-term play. I currently invest in multifamily from a distance (Cleveland, OH), because that's where the numbers make sense for my current strategy. Another piece of wisdom from the podcast - live where you want to live and invest where the numbers make sense!Cheers and good luck on your journey! Alex

Jake Andronico · Answer

@Kristofer Marsh

I've house hacked two SFH's here. I'm now moved out and they each cash flow approx. $1k per month.

I also work for a brokerage that has done more small multi-family deals (2-10 units) than anyone in the area for the past 5 years.

People are still house hacking even in this environment, however it is certainly tougher.

Would be happy to hop on a call to discuss more.

Wesley Pittman · Answer

@Kristofer Marsh

Hi Kirstofer!

Yep, lots of people househack here in Reno. With the current rate environment, expect the rents of your other unit to help reduce your monthly expense not eliminate it! Because we are a more appreciation driven environment and our cap rates tends to be pretty low (sub 6 for the past 10 years for most small inventory), it pretty much always seems that when you buy the property, the rental unit just covers some of the costs, but give the calendar some time to do its magic and they end up performing pretty well in the long run. Here's an article I wrote on my first deal which was house hack near UNR.

https://www.biggerpockets.com/member-blogs/15282/101055-and-...

Heidi M. · Answer

@Kristofer Marsh. There’s nothing in Reno to househack. You may consider renting out rooms. There seems to be a lot of that going on.

I have 1 duplex I bought about 10 years ago in Sparks, but honestly they are rare.

Bradley Buxton · Answer

There is for sure house hacking going on.  It really depends on your goals and how long you want to hold your hack. Some people need to stay in them longer to finish value add repairs or upgrades. Depending on your financing situation there are some good deals in up and coming parts of town.  Message me if you want some good contacts in the Reno area.

Kristofer Marsh · Answer

Thanks @Wesley Pittman, this is encouraging information. I do consider "Successful" in Reno meaning house hacking at all. With the restrictions to ADUs it seems like most house hacks are either in a duplex/MFH situation or a "granny unit"/unfinished basement setup.

Kristofer Marsh · Answer

Thanks @Andrew Postell. By successful, I mean simply that it's working well for you. Could be L/M/STR, something creative like storage, etc.

Thank you for the tip on going local. I'm in a few meetups in the area, but thought I'd cast the wider net anyway.

Andrew Postell · Answer

@Kristofer Marsh I'll ask the general question here first:  What would you define as a "successful" househack?

Now, if we need market specific things, whether it's a plumber or advice on a neighborhood, then we need to go local for it. Try some local real estate meetup groups.  Meetup.com is a good resource for those but some of the groups will also post here on Bigger Pockets Marketplace too.  Even facebook might have some good local groups for you.  But post locally for this.  That’s the best bet

Is anyone house hacking in Reno, NV?

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