What was your first househack? - Helping Others Get Started

Question

Excited that my buyer clients just closed on their first househack owner occupied duplex in Port Washington, Wisconsin!

@Adam Chmielewski saw my BiggerPockets post around a year ago, and reached out to learn about how my wife Rosie and I got into our first two househack duplexes. I educated them not just about buying his first home, but also showed them how to use the BiggerPockets Calculator so HE can decide on what KPIs (key performance indicators) that he wants to purchase his investments off of and confidently select his first on-ramp to financial freedom.

What was your first househack story, and have you ever helped anyone get started like this before? Would love to hear your stories!

Also, if you live in the Milwaukee to Madison area and/or attend any of the BiggerPockets, Milwaukee REIA, or Madison REIA meet ups, I would love to get connected. On to the next!

David Mo · Answer

@Jacob Sheets My first investment/house-hack is a duplex in West Allis that @Marcus Auerbach helped me purchase! I raised rents in the bottom unit to market value, threw 18k into the upper unit for renovations, currently rent 1 of the bedrooms out, and rent covers all my fixed expenses and 90% of my variable expenses.

House hacking is a great way to get your feet wet in RE investing and opens a lot of doors/opportunities down the road!

James Konvalinka · Answer

This is an amazing great thread! I also got my start in real estate through a house hack. I purchased a duplex in Bay View a little over a year ago and it has been amazing. I just had my first vacancy! My tenants stayed here for around 16 months until the ended up purchasing their first home! Now that they are moved out I am going to be doing some minor rehab work to improve the unit and re-rent it! Most people aren't this excited for a vacancy but having my tenants go from renting to homeowners is really exciting to watch.

Now I also help other in MKE get their start with house hacking! I currently have 3 FHA buyers all looking to house hack! One is closing next week and the other two are just starting the hunt! It is hands down one of the best ways for anyone to get started in real estate and learn the ropes while having someone help keep your housing expenses low and building equity.

Jayson Cain · Answer

Great story @Jacob Sheets and Congrats Adam on your first house hack! My first househack was a condo that I listed on Airbnb. I would live in one room and listed the other on Airbnb. It covered my mortgage and cashflowed a little even in an expensive market like LA.

Ryan Thomson · Answer

Love it!

My first house hack: House Hack with an airbnb. SFH with 4 bedrooms. Live in one. Rent the other three. Converted one of the garages into a studio kitchenette apartment by using a 20K personal loan. The airbnb nets me $1450 every month and the bedrooms rent for $1800 total. On a $1550 mortgage I am grossing $3250 on rent every month.

Dylan Eldred · Answer

My first househack is the one I’m currently living in. My wife and I purchased a 4 bedroom new construction in Houston, and we rent 3 of the rooms through Airbnb. It consistently covers our housing expense every month and sometimes a bit extra. We’re currently looking for a duplex/triplex as our next househack.

Jacob Sheets · Answer

@Brock Mogensen Agreed! Every journey starts with a single step.

Brock Mogensen · Answer

House hack is a great way to get started.  I started with house hacking a duplex 3 years ago.  That deal taught me the basics of real estate and allowed me to scale to where I am today.

John Lanser · Answer

My first house hack was a duplex in Port Washington, WI. Lived in the 3 bedroom lower with my family and rented out the 1 bedroom upper. Owned it as a rental for a few years after we went to a larger home for us before we sold it. Sold it and took the equity and bought another duplex that cash flowed very well. Was able to take a shorter 15 year loan out so I could pay it down quicker. The home appreciated quickly and I was able to borrow equity from it for a down payment on another duplex. So I did a cash out refinance to buy the next one. There was still enough equity to sell when the opportunity came to 1031 the proceeds into the 4 family unit that I now also have. The owner occupied house hack allowed me to live cheap and get into the game.

Brock Mogensen · Answer

House hacking is a great way to get started!  That is how I started 3 years ago. It taught me the basics of a real estate transaction and allowed me to scale into much larger deals quick.

Jacob Sheets · Answer

@Dylan Eldred A great way to start!

What was your first househack? - Helping Others Get Started

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