House hacking

[Thomasine Scott]

I live in Houston, TX. I'm currently in the pre-approval process for a loan in order to figure out how much I can afford. I don't expect it to be much (in relation to the average home price in Houston) so i was thinking about starting out investing in condos and/or town homes. I  figure in such a large urban area they would be somewhat of a safe bet as far as being able to keep vacancies low. Any thoughts on going this route? I'd eventually like to build up to SFHs. Thoughts?

[Jose Martinez]

Thomasine Scott welcome to BP! In regards to your question, from meetups and data ive read in BP and the web, condos are not a good start. You should try a multi family unit and occupy one of the units. With your loan, add a 203k rehab loan roll it all into the 30yr low interest and rehab, get tenants 2-4 units and it will pay for itself. You live rent free and learn about rehab, tenants, landlord and its the same loan as a sfu. Hope this helps, may the odds be in your favor!