What should the goal of House Hacking be?

[Austin Keelen]

I was recently pre approved for a loan backed by the VA and have started the house hunt. My wife and I plan on being owner occupants of a multi-family in NJ and have been crunching the numbers on several properties.

I'm just curious to know what a good deal will really look like. I understand that by living in 1 of the units it'll be difficult to find a location with positive cash flow after expenses and PITI, but what should my realistic goal be? Obviously after I move out the cash flow must be positive but while I'm occupying a unit should I shoot for only a few hundred out of pocket every month? Should I just be looking to pay less than what the rent would be if I was an actual tenant? Does anyone have a good rule of thumb for this?

[Russell Naylor]

You will likely get some varying answers on this. General consensus on questions like this, is that is depends on what your goals are. As an investment, you will obviously want it to cash flow when you are renting both units. Depending on area and market, you may be able to get enough rent out of one unit to cover your expenses, or it may be a little short. Regardless, you should be getting very low cost living with the help of the 2nd unit, and should be making money on the prop once you move out. 

Good luck figuring everything out!