House Hack vs Multifamily investment in tough markets

[Louis L.]

Ive been struggling with the following situation and would love other's input. What i've been reading so far regarding house hacking seems to not address the following situation. I live in NYC where we all know its a bit more difficult to househack in the true sense. Living in the outer boroughs isn't the most attractive given long commutes, less vibrancy etc.

Lets say im considering house hacking a 3 unit multifamily in the bronx or deep brooklyn for example. For simplicity each unit is equal in size and rents for a fictional amount of $3000/month/unit. For the moment, ignore by how much the property will be cash flow positive. If all three units are rented, that $9000/month.

Now this is where i'm stuck. Lets say my current small apartment in Manhattan with a roommate only costs me 1000$/month to live in. In this situation I can collect the full $9000/mo from my multifamily and pay my $1000 rent. Here i end up with 8000 for debt and operating expenses as opposed to 6000 if i had lived in one of the units.

In more concise terms, the spread between what my "househacked" unit rent is and what i could pay in rent in Manhattan (and not sacrifice quality of life) is positive.

I'm trying to determine if I am missing something here. Obviously there are financing benefits of the FHA or 203k loan, but as a millennial in a tough real estate market, this is my natural progression of thought.

Thank you all in advance for your input and advice. Much appreciated.