House hacking tips for beginners

[Pat Rach]

House hacking is something I am looking to get into, I have learned the basic ins and outs but am yet to purchase a property. Is there any advice you would be willing to share for someone looking to get into house hacking as a young investor looking to make my first big purchase? 

[Scott E.]

My first deal was a house hack. I looked for a duplex, triplex, or a fourplex but kept getting beat by cash investors. So I ended up buying a 3 bedroom house, living in 1 of the bedrooms, and renting the others out.

What I learned after a few years is that I loved living basically for free, but I didn't love having roommates! I enjoyed having roommates when I was a bit younger and living in an apartment, but there was something different about living with people in the house that I owned. I was way more particular about the way they treated the bathrooms, kitchen, floors, etc.

Anyways I say all that to say, get into a 2-4 unit if you can lol.

And some people say you shouldn't get a loan where you put less than 20% down, otherwise you will have to pay mortgage insurance. But my 2 cents is that mortgage insurance isn't that big of a deal. If you only can put 3.5% down with an FHA loan, but you can afford the mortgage with PMI, then go for it. You'll thank yourself in 5-10 years when you're ready to sell.

Last thing - You make money on the buy. Meaning buy in a good location, pay a number that makes sense on paper, leave emotion out of the equation.