House hacking in San Diego

[Maddy C.]

Considering the move to SD in September/October this year and want to purchase a house hack. Will be heading out there in March to check out neighborhoods and get a sense of the area. Would likely be working in the University City area.

Budget probably max $700k with FHA. It would just be me and I'm open to renting out rooms / parking spaces / mid-term rentals / living in a run-down ADU - honestly anything. And it has to make sense as a rental once I move out. I've seen a lot of posts on BP from even 12 months ago, and it seems that prices have increased since then.

I'd love to purchase a muti-family (using the future rental income to qualify for a larger loan) however they seem unattainable now with the prices. 

• Are there any other ways to reduce cash on close - maybe first home buyer programs, rolling closing costs into the loan etc?
• What strategies are you seeing that work for lower entry points?
• What neighborhoods do you think I should check out while I'm there?

[Emy Bernardo]

Hi Maddy - sounds like you have a good mindset for investing and this is the best way to start out as a first time buyer! There are some great first time buyer programs unique to California and depending your income, you may even qualify for a ADU grant. https://www.calhfa.ca.gov/home... I live next to University City and it's a great area near UCSD that would be ideal for renting rooms, but the median price is 1.3 million for single family and not an area that has many duplexes. I often see duplexes for sale in my neighborhood (Clairemont/Bay Ho -92117) but they usually sell for at least 900k or more. If you like this area - you could look at a condo. For a SFH, go a little further east - say La Mesa, Santee, Lakeside, where the price point for single family is lower. You may be able to find a little fixer with a detached garage that could be a converted to an ADU.