House Hacking in So. SF Area - The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

[Kevin D.]

Hello BP'ers,

My wife and I are looking for a new home in or around San Jose, CA and are considering "House Hacking" ideas such as duplexes, lots with auxiliary units, or even lots large enough to add an auxiliary unit to rent out. We are doing this to keep housing costs low compared to a standard SFR with a full mortgage pmt and zero rental income, allowing us to keep growing our investment capital for rental properties with higher cash flow (out of state primarily). We consider ourselves open to the idea of landlording and managing the property but since the tenants would be sharing the property and possibly/likely sharing walls and other amenities, we'd like to make sure we've sufficiently considered all of the potential pitfalls, pros, and cons.

I've been reading the forums, listening to the Podcasts, and talk frequently with friends in the area that invest so I've got a decent basis of knowledge but what I'd like is a post for other San Jose (or other South Bay Area) hackers to share stories, good, bad, and otherwise.  I know that California is not the greatest state to be a Landlord in compared to some others but obviously, people do it so I thought we could share stories here.  

If anyone has come across any books, blogs, etc. that are specific to this unique niche of landlording, please let me know.