House Hacking Strategy To Begin Real Estate Investing

[Brandon Kalp]

Hi everyone,

I have always been fascinated with real estate and have finally come across the Rental Property Investing book which has led me to the Bigger Pockets website. I've gone through a lot of the threads and think this is an awesome community so far!

I have done a lot of research on homes in my area lately and think the best strategy for me to get started is buying a duplex to live in one side and rent out the other. I had a couple questions and wanted to get some opinions from people on Bigger Pockets. Any replies will be greatly appreciated. 

I have gone through my numbers for finding my first duplex along with the requirements in the towns I am looking into buying for rental properties. I know a lot of people are saying that home prices keep going up and up and one thing stressed in the book was not rushing in and waiting for a good deal.

So, for a duplex that you are looking into for renting one side and living in the other, would a good deal be having the rent you are getting break even on the mortgage, insurance, and taxes?. Or would you recommend waiting to find a deal where you were making a small profit after mortgage, insurance, and taxes? Any comments would be greatly appreciated, thank you in advance. 

[Patrick Daniel]

It really comes down to what your goal is for the home. If you have a duplex where one side covers the mortgage, then that would mean you are living for free, minus utilities. That will leave that amount more each month for you to save and lead to more investments. 

Be sure you are thinking of your exit strategy when you purchase the home. Do you want to but a flip that you can sell after a couple of years or do you want to hold the duplex for a while? Have you thought about a 4plex that you can rent out 3 units and live in one? You can get residential mortgages on up to 4 units.

Best of luck!