House Hacking-How should I approach it?

[Luis Vilar]

Hey BP! My name is Luis. I am currently living in South Florida, specifically in West Palm Beach. I am trying to get my first deal done within a year. I've been crunching some numbers based on the blog "How to analyze a deal". However, I still not very clear how to approach this and would like to clarify a couple of doubts. When I am calculating numbers on the spreadsheet I created, I am using the 50% rule for expenses. By the end of the calculations I am having a negative cash flow. From my point of view this is money coming out of my pocket. But also, I understand that not all the expense are going to be used monthly, some should go to a savings account im case maintenance needs to be done. Am I missing something? How should I approach my numbers. Should I get a deal where the rent pays for the morgage and separate some of my salary for maintenance? Thanks in advance!