Soon to be House Hacker Going on First Property Viewing!

[Danielle Daly]

Hey everyone, so happy to meet you all!!! Although I'm not new to the community, this is my first post :)

I'm buying my first home (future house hacker here) within a few months and am experiencing yet ANOTHER first this weekend - the first day of viewing potential properties with my agent! I'd love to hear some tips and tricks on what to look for during each property viewing, from a house hacker's perspective. For example, are there any deal breakers you'd be on the lookout for; any damage/mold/etc. that would be a dealbreaker? Potential open space that could be turned into another bedroom/bathroom? Maybe an opportune place to put up a wall and create a mother in law suite, etc.?  Any and all tips would be super helpful!

For additional context, I'll be living in the property and renting by the room, looking for 4 (hopefully 5) bedrooms, and am open to some small repairs (i.e. painting, flooring, etc.) but nothing major (no foundational work / remodeling - I'm not exactly a handy person haha). 

Thanks in advance!! 

[Ben Einspahr]

Hi @Danielle Daly, Congrats on your first post and that much closer to your first HH. If I could go back, I would have started RBR HH'ing back in college. I call it recession proof investing! 

So a few tips and tricks on what to look for when looking for RBR HH:

1). Stating the obvious one but 4+ bed house. Anything less does not see to do well after moving out in the Denver metro market.

2). Egress widows. For basement rooms do not rent out any room that do not have proper egress. Others may disagree but my opinion, not worth the risk.

3). No more than two tenants sharing one bathroom. For example, if you have a 4bed/2bath and one of the bathrooms is connected to the master bed. That means the other 3 rooms are sharing a bathroom. May not be the best option at 6:30AM when everyone is wanting to shower before work :)

4). Look for larger basement bedrooms that can legally be converted into 2 bedrooms. Notice how I said legally. (egress, electrical, air in and out). This can be done for less than $2k. Here is an example of a client Jeff White and I helped turn a 3/2 into a 4/2.

For more rent by the room furnishing tips and tricks, check out this ride along video where where we tour a very cool rent by the room in Lakewood, CO. I call it the ultimate house hack (Click here to view it). Would not expect anything less from Jeff White.