Thinking of House Hacking in SoCal

[James Marin]

Hello everybody!

I would love to house hack as my first investment but everything is of course very expensive here in Southern California, specifically Los Angeles. 

Currently looking at some duplexes, and as amazing as living in a duplex while having someone else pay off the mortgage sounds, it doesn't seem quite realistic. I wouldn't mind having the majority of the mortgage paid off by someone living in one unit, and then having a roommate living with me in the other unit. It would get me closer to getting the mortgage fully covered but perhaps not 100% 

Here are some places that I browsed and wanted to get your thoughts on.

https://www.zillow.com/homes/155-S-Madison-Ave-Los-Angeles,-CA,-90004_rb/20773431_zpid/

https://www.zillow.com/homes/906-Parkman-Ave-Los-Angeles,-CA,-90026_rb/20745402_zpid/

https://www.zillow.com/homes/2276-Earl-Ave-Long-Beach,-CA,-90806_rb/21195978_zpid/

The last one of course being the most affordable but perhaps a good option for me.

My questions are really this.

1) Where would one even START, and is looking on zillow even a good way?

2) How difficult is it to obtain an FHA loan to put 3.5% down on a property?

3) Would having MOST of the mortgage paid for by other tenants still be a good idea if that means I'm paying less than what I am paying currently in renting an apartment, or is that a bad idea?

Thanks for looking!