House hacking to commute to DC. Frustrated at current situation

[Matthew Croft]

Hi,

I moved to DC because I recently graduated college and got a job here as a Software Engineer. I live in Arlington, VA and pay about 2000 a month in rent. After reading books and learning about real estate from BP I am very upset at my current situation because after the month is over I have no money left to invest, I am paying everyone else first and myself last. I think that I want to try and house hack. I am not worried about an hour or a little more of a commute because I feel that this will give me more time to read and gain more knowledge about my new passion which is real estate and financial freedom. Plus my work pays for my commute so to me it seems like a no brainer. I was wondering where do you think would be the best places to look to house hack in either Maryland or VA.

So I have two problems the way I see it, first being my current lease which I signed for 12 months. I grabbed a copy of the lease and it did not say anything about breaking the lease and leaving early. However I am sure there would be penalties. So I was thinking one of two things. Ask for a modification of my lease to switch to monthly and find a place to live/house hack. Two the penalty is not that bad for breaking the lease and I go ahead and do that. Any suggestions or has anyone been in this situation?

Next I want to find a place that I can have roommates and have them pay my mortgage and possibly even take a little away from it a month. Being right out of college I have no credit. With the salary I make I believe with FHA I could afford about a 200k place, hence why I am looking to live on the outskirts and commute far. With having no credit and but a decent W2 paying job would this be a problem? Also if not would anyone have any insight of certain areas that would best fit my need for house hacking/commuting to DC?

Appreciate everyone even reading to this point and appreciate the time and consideration in everyones responses.

[Russell Brazil]

Start saving for a down payment. Start building credit. Do not break your lease. Some people make the mistake and think there is no penalty when in actuality thr penalty is owing the entire amount of the lease. Talk to @Upen Patel who is a mortgage loan officer to see how much you would qualify to borrow, and then after you have a price point you can target a place to live. If your price point ends up being  $200k there are plenty of 2 BR condos in the metro area you could buy and get a roommate.