House Hacking in San Diego

[Ryan Knapp]

Hey BP, 

My wife and I have been attempting to luxury house hack (add an ADU onto SFR) in my hometown and are feeling a little worn down. I've read quite a few BP books and believe it's a strategy that works. I want to provide a tangible path to advancement for my wife and little 6 month old. We both work full time and don't make a ton. We've been approved for a 420k FHA loan, VERY entry level for SD.

The last house we put an offer on we were essentially ghosted by the selling agent after his loan officer called to "cross check" our loan and I didn't bite on switching over to his non-FHA loan product. We've looked at 20ish homes in person, I analyze and check the MLS and real estate apps every day (hourly, honestly) and we've been looking for four months or so. In this time we've only found two homes that would potentially work and we put offers on.

It's hard to put my wife through the emotional toll of looking at so many properties and getting our hopes up to find out it won't work. I'm beginning to wonder if I should continue or if it's just foolish to put my family through the ups and downs. Don't want to quit of be a quitter, but am trying to be wise and realistic. 

Have some question's that I need some advice on...

-What's a realistic number of homes to put offers on before finding something when you're very entry level in the market? 

-Do agents discriminate against FHA loans? Is it a loan product that's worked for other to house-hack with at the lower end of the market?

-What's a better way to find FHA approved style deals?

-Do most agents play games or are they being honest when they tell us they "Have multiple offers and more to come, so please get your's in soon"?

-Any creative strategies for funding ADUs? Or specific loans?

-What are some way besides offering more to make our offers more appealing?

-What's a realistic amount under asking to offer in a hot market like SD?

Best, 

Ryan