Woodbridge VA - first time home buyer looking to house hack

[Zain Jafri]

Hi BP family!

I am a 23 year old first time home buyer in the Woodbridge/dumfries VA area and looking to house hack to begin my REI journey!

I am looking at townhouses and am planning on renting out the basement. Was wondering if anyone has any experience with renting out townhouse basements? My main worry is finding a townhouse with a separate basement entrance as well as issues with accessing that entrance if the townhouse is a middle unit and not an end one.

My plan is to live in this townhouse for about a year or two, move and rent the entire unit out, and rinse and repeat. My only worry is mortgages are looking to be around $3200-$3500, and from what I can see rental rates are quite a bit below that. 

Does this seem like a good idea? Does the Woodbridge area have a good demand for basement rentals? 

Also am interested in meeting and connecting with other investors in the northern Virginia area if anyone knows of any chats or meetups!

[Ika Sargeant]

@Zain Jafri Yes buying a townhome and renting lower level works well if done right. Certainly makes sure it walks out or separate entrance. You also need to think about how the tenant in the basement will cook. Often full kitchens are not allowed. @Joaquin Camarasa is right, it is getting tougher in our market to break even. We are seeing unsettled market that is shifting almost from month to month, but in general inventory is still very low. You can do what you are suggesting but it will take a longer period to get to your goal. I can't answer about the demand for rentals in Woodbridge but my hunch would be with the rising rentals, a basement rental would offer competitive pricing. The price would be the attraction.