"House Hacking" in NYC

[Thomas Welch]

Hey everyone! 

Been reading the book, "Investing in Duplexes, Triplexes, and Quads" by Larry Loftis,

and the idea of house hacking a multi-family as a starting point for real-estate investing sounds

really awesome!  The main issue for me is I live in New York City, and we have a lot of family here, 

and my wife absolutely loves her job and being close to her family. Looking at the prices of multi-families in NYC 

is daunting to say the least...

As a father of 2, with a wife who loves her job in the city, is it possible to "house hack" a multifamily

in NYC and cash flow positive? Especially without putting a 6 figure down payment?

Any help/info you guys can provide would be greatly appreciated!

[Jessica Zolotorofe]

The problem is house hacking usually suggests that the property is in crappy condition, which you'll find a lot more of in the boroughs other than Manhattan, except for the Harlem area is investor friendly, as is maybe Washington Heights area, but generally, Queens, Brooklyn, Bronx you're getting much more inventory than in Manhattan. A lot of the neighborhoods in Manhattan are condos or coops, too, not regular multi families, which adds an extra layer of complication. So, if you're spending big bucks, the chance of you buying something in need of a fair amount of upgrading is less likely.  Can you do a suburb like Jersey City or Weehawken or Edgewater, or any of the boroughs, and your wife can have a little commute into Manhattan? You obviously want to make sure with little kids that you're somewhere safe, but the real appreciation is going to be in the "up and coming" areas moreso than the areas that are already there.