All Forum Posts by: Matt Smith

Hey @Matt Smith, lots of good advice here. I will say that the first year is on the thin side. You are just getting going with no reviews so it will take some time to build up the rep and it will help drive more bookings.

Airbnb doesn't have slow season but specific markets do usually have slow times. This is usually market or even property specific.

If your not getting bookings there are things you can do.

Lower your price, this will also help you get more reviews.

Professional pictures, better description, add amenities etc.

Hey @Austin Berlick!

Really great question. I've been living in house hacks since 2016, and purchased my home to house hack in Nov. of 2021. It may sound a little outdated, but I've always used craigslist to find tenants (and the places I used to rent) but my process is a little lengthy to screen my tenants. I require that we text or email, then have a video call and a house tour video, all before meeting in person. If its someone that lives in the area I meet them at a coffee shop before inviting them to the house. While doing this I am asking questions, gauging how they communicate, and checking for consistencies across their answers and behaviors.

Questions I like to ask:

What do you do for work or your income?

What brings you to town or why are you moving if you live here already?

Have you lived in a shared house before?

What hours are you normally awake/active?

How do you handle conflict?

There's not really right or wrong answers here, but use yourself as a template. As @Scott Mac said earlier, it can be good to have a more homogenous household.

Additionally, I like to start with a 6 month lease. This allows me to get to know how they will be as a tenant, and how I will be as a landlord with out a super long commitment. If issues come up, talk about them, and be receptive to feedback which they may have. Apartments.com has free property management software for up to 10 units. You can screen tenants and charge rent through that platform if needed. I think bp pro members have access to some property management software too! 

Finally, I have house rules and quiet hours. This helps demonstrate the kind of household I run for my house hack. My rules include things like no shoes in the house, clean up after yourself, shared bathrooms must be cleaned regularly. Lead by example for your rules and it will help your tenants stick to them!

 People who cost average into the market by purchasing one a year or one every couple years drastically outperform those who wait and "HOPE" that it goes down. You can't time the market. Reach out to me and I'll send you a video of a presentation I did that explains really well how timing the market isn't going to outperform cost averaging. 

Let's say you are paying 2k/month in rent then now is a great time to get into house hacking. Instead of throwing that money away every month you can pay down your mortgage and own and asset that will appreciate over the long term. Not to mention if you rent out the bedrooms you’ll get all of the benefits of owning a home AND pay less towards your monthly mortgage than your rent of 2k.

Thinking about the market… I wouldn’t be too concerned with a house hack for two reasons.

1. 1. If your plan is to scale and buy a property every year or two then you will cost average into the market. Eventually, you will buy a property when it is near the bottom for prices. Since you (and no one else who talks like they do) actually knows what’s going to happen this is the best strategy for buying an investment if you continue to buy over the long run. You can’t time the market.

1. 2. If you wait 12 months and get lucky and the house is worth 20k less now, you will have spent 24k in rent over that time period.

@Matt Smith Sounds like a great plan. Not sure what other thoughts you want. Seems like you have a great exit plan for your current house. I like the research you've done on the market. Clost to covering your mortgage is a serious win! Nice work. Keep thinking about how to scale. 

@Matt Smith Sounds like a great plan. Not sure what other thoughts you want. Seems like you have a great exit plan for your current house. I like the research you've done on the market. Clost to covering your mortgage is a serious win! Nice work. Keep thinking about how to scale. 

Here is an informative video on how to scale house hacking: 

@Matt Smith this sounds like a great plan from what you've mentioned. Will you continue to rent it out by the room after your move on from this next house hack? Always start with the end in mind!