Surprise! Advantages to House-Hacking that I didn't Foresee

[Scott Trench]

I think that my experience as a brand new "House-Hacker" can be beneficial to some other Newbies out there.  I wanted to share what I believe are the top three surprise benefits to being a house hacker over starting with a flip, rental, or other property that investors don't live in.

Well here goes:

1) Being a homeowner is a challenge in and of itself.  

As a renter, you have it pretty good (except for the financial situation thing) - you don't have to repair the clogged drain, the faucet, or the outlet that goes bad.  As a homeowner, you've got to fix that all yourself.  

It's not that easy.  For one, I started with NO TOOLS.  I probably have spent $500 or more acquiring drills, wrenches, hacksaws, plumbing and electrical equipment, shovels, a ladder, and dozens of other items that you just might not own as a sheltered, spoiled renter (like me).  I'm definitely glad that I had a month to work on my own side's problems and collect a basic understanding of how houses work before having to deal with tenant problems!

2) You are there for the emergencies.

Emergencies happen - as I learned all too well in my first week of investing.  Because I'm an idiot, I thought I would save some money by shutting the heat off in the other unit of my property (I live in Denver and it was bitterly cold this particular week).  When I turned the heat back on to work on the kitchen in that unit, BAM - a pipe burst.  

Experienced investors know to simply shut off the water and call a plumber - which I eventually ended up doing.  But to me this was a wild new experience - it certainly felt like an emergency to me!  I'm just glad I was there, this happened during the day, and I didn't have to deal with this problem over the phone with a tenant in a situation that I didn't have direct, and immediate control over.  

In this future, this emergency and others like it, won't even be an "emergency".  But as a totally green investor, I'm glad I was there.

3) I can go above and beyond the bare minimum amount of effort required for a return - it's for me!

Another thing that I personally consider an advantage to House-Hacking is that this property is more than an investment that is expected to generate a return - for the time being it is also my home!  

Because it is my home, I spend a lot of time improving it.  I've installed lights, I'm planting a tree (a surprisingly in-depth process that involves having the city come and paint my gas lines, water lines, etc), added some vanities that I like for my own bathroom, added a nice little rack for my hats and belts, and am looking forward to putting up a fence and painting and restoring two decrepit sheds that came with the property.

I just wanted to share my thoughts and see what other people had to say.  Does anyone else experience these advantages or believe that House-Hacking has other advantages that are more subtle than the obvious financing ones?

[Elizabeth Colegrove]

House hacking = renting out rooms :)

Yes to everything you said! My only piece of advice is be careful you don't "over improve" because it's your home! We made that mistake on our first home. Now we only do what will need for rentals and no more. The rest of the money is put into buying more homes or traveling.