House hacking advice please

[Seona Joung]

Hello, I work remotely and currently live with my sister who is in medical school. We will be moving to Columbia, MO in June after her graduation for 1 year+ internship. 

 Considering that we don't know if she will be there after a year, is it better to househack by renting than buying a property? I am not sure if buying one in the midwest near collegetown is an opportunity to get into investing and save money as well. I want to eventually move to coastal cities like New Jersey (near NYC), San Diego or Seattle. I am pretty much open to new cities since I can work remotely. So my options are:

1) Buy a multifamily house in Columbia, MO and househack

2) Rent a house in Columbia, MO and househack

3) House hack in another coastal city with short term rents like Airbnb

4) Attempt to buy a house in another coastal city and househack to pay for my mortgage.

I think #2 is the best option at this point in time so that I can save to buy a house in another city in about a year. But if there is anything else that I should consider, I would really appreciate anything the community can share. Thank you so much!

[Daniel Vineis]

Hey @Seona Joung so this is how I would look at it. Since there is a good chance you wont be staying in Columbia I would build out a team the same way you would if you where investing in the area from out of state. David Greens book on investing out of state is amazing and was pretty much how I built my entire portfolio in North Carolina. Main topic to address would be building your core four Lender,Agent,Contractor and Property Manager. After building those relationships you will have a pretty good idea of what your day to day will look like owning a property out of state. If the numbers still work with a property manager and your comfortable with your team on the ground then pull the trigger. The only reason I wouldn't purchase in Columbia is if you have greater incentives to purchase your first home in another state. I am a agent in New Jersey right by the city so I can speak about that market. If your a first time home buyer you can qualify for a grant from the state. In that area its going to be $15,000 that you can use for closing costs and your down payment. It can also lower your interest rate and is 100% forgivable if you own the house for 5 Years. You just need to own it for 5 years not live in it for 5 years. So if you narrow down where you will be moving to after. I would reach out to a few people in those states and see what incentives there are to purchase your first home there.