Will House Hacking work with single family homes?

[Minh Lai]

I'm asking strictly about the numbers. I know it will be harder looking for tenants/roommates and the management will be different. I live in a college town so I'm hoping to find friends and friends of friends to room with me.

There are not a lot of duplexes in my town that are for sale. The ones that are up for sale are out of my price range.

I'm assuming 'house hacking' could work because there are plenty of single family homes that are successful rentals.

I'm currently looking at some 3 bedroom / 1.5+bathroom houses and some of the numbers are working out for me.. 

[Lisa V.]

Hacking a single family home can be extremely lucrative if you are in a high rent area. My Seattle home was originally a 2 bedroom home with a full daylight basement. A prior owner had finished the basement adding two  small rooms and a laundry area. Ultimately, by renting out rooms, hacking spaces and lots of trial and error I managed to create 3 separate units in the basement which give each tenant their own maximum space (minimal sharing). I continued to live upstairs renting out the second bedroom for $800 as well bringing my rental income to $3200 downstairs. After a while I knew I could get more from renting out the 2 bedroom house upstairs and eventually moved in with my girlfriend and was able to get $2000 for the upstairs space alone bringing the total to $5200/mo. 

This transition happened over about 7 years where I learned lots about tenants, maintenance and strategy. In order for me to be able to move out I had to have eyes on the property so I found an unemployed carpenter who I trusted enough with my room and who was willing to trade. He then became the full time manager.  Ultimately I had him build me a two story mini house in the backyard which I can rent for at least $1000. He has been living there ever since he completed it though my plan is to move him back into an $800 room as soon as I get a vacancy (which is rare). I stopped having a job about 2 years ago and have not looked back.  On to the next challenge!