Guidance on House Hack on First Property

[Luis Jarquin]

Good evening BP,

I'm excited to launch my REI opportunity by soon purchasing my first property! I plan on House Hacking a single family home in the D.C., Maryland, Virginia (DMV) area.

I'm seeking guidance on whether this house-hack is something viable and if there were any resources you could point me towards?

Loans

I shopped around with several lenders and had a great experience with two in particular. Both of them were confirming the similar results for my particular situation. Despite this being my first property, a Conventional Loan would make more sense than an FHA. My monthly mortgage would be much less on a Conventional and I can pay off the property more quickly than with an FHA.

According to my lender, I qualify for a certain dollar amount BUT the advice I've heard elsewhere is to not pay monthly mortgage more than 25 - 30% of my take home monthly pay. When I run my own numbers, I think I should be seeking for a property for less than what I qualify for. But with a house-hack, perhaps the more expensive Single Family Home (SFH) can work.

Property

I plan on working with my realtor to locate a SFH with a walkout basement whereby I live in the basement and my tenants fill rent upstairs. If my property is in the more expensive range and in great shape, appealing to the eye and marketed well, I think I'd be able to attract high quality tenants that could cover the expensive monthly mortgage.

Questions/Feedback

What do you think about the my loan qualification discrepancy?

What would you think is the best approach:

• Rent upstairs to a family
• Rent upstairs with individuals

Appreciate your guidance and pointing me in the right direction, BP!  

I look forward to hearing from you.