House Hacking Tips

[Thomas Ebenhoch]

Hello All - Newbie investor here, I have been studying and learning for the past few months and I am getting ready to make my first jump into the world of real estate investing. I am looking to purchase a multi-family property and plan to owner occupy. My ultimate goal is to be able to cash flow (or break even) the property while I live in one of the units.

I am in the Albany/Troy, NY area and this area has a large amount of multi-family properties selling for anywhere from $50-250K. I am looking for any tips from more experienced investors who have followed this strategy to get their feet wet in the investing world. 

I am hoping we can start a nice discussion on house hacking techniques/tips and hopefully some experienced investors can jump in and share how they did it, what they would do differently, etc.

[Jaysen Medhurst]

Hi, @Thomas Ebenhoch,

Be careful with duplexes. They are hard to cash flow as a house hack or pure investment, because you're spreading the expenses across only 2 units.

Don't settle on a crappy neighborhood just because the price looks good. Remember you'll be living there.

You're a landlord 1st and neighbor/friend/therapist 2nd.

Screen applicants just as stringently as if you weren't living in the property. You'll thank yourself later.