House hacking in palm beach county Florida

[Heather Wear]

Hello BP community :)

I have been eager to start my real estate investing career for a few years now and am now looking to purchase my first home. I live in palm beach county Florida and I want to house hack in order to be able to save for a second property.

I am pre approved for 225k. I would love a duplex or triplex to start out with but in my area with that amount of money I have had no such luck finding any. So I was hoping to get a 3 bedroom property and rent out the other 2 rooms but I am only really seeing 2 bedrooms from what my realtor is sending me on the mls. So renting a room out would help me out but I am still going to end up paying a lot with the remainder of the mortgage and possibly HOA.

I am wondering if there is a better strategy I should take or if anyone knows a surrounding area that might be better for what I’m trying to do. I work from home so I could potentially move further I would just prefer to be close to my family.

Any input is much appreciated!

[Duriel Taylor]

@Heather Wear

Have you ever considered a fha rehab 203k? This loan program allows you to buy a home with the intent to rehab and live in. This will allow you to buy a home that needs repairs and it's all backed by the govt, in addition, there are great minimal downpayment requirements. Furthermore, in your post you mentioned one of your expenses would be HOA fees. You could look at homes that do not have HOAs.