First House Hack: LTR or STR?

[Jessica Wilson]

Hi everyone, I am currently in the process for saving up for my first house hack, hoping to buy in the beginning of 2022. I have already read the House Hacking Strategy but am stuck with what I believe should be my first move.

Obviously, my goal is financial freedom as soon as possible. This leads me to believe that I should choose STR for my first house hack. However, would there be any benefit of making my first house hack a LTR? If my first house hack is a LTR, I still plan on a majority of my portfolio to be STR with Airbnb after that.

Please let me know your opinions, stories, anything. I’m eager to buy a property but I want to make it count!

[Bradley Dosch]

All depends on what you want. If managing STRs excites you then follow that. If having roommates and renting out by the room seems lighter, go with that. Or if you don't want to do anything, hire a property manager and have them do it.

For my first house hack I did a mix. Two of the bedrooms, I had long term roommates in and the other bedroom i did on Airbnb. I really enjoyed the roommate situation honestly. You can all build good chemistry and create systems for a comfortable living situation. The profits on rent by the room are still very good and reliable. Even during the pandemic, there was plenty of demand for one bedroom in a house with other people haha. Ethically, I think long term housing is the right thing to do but that's just my opinion. The demand for housing is there, no matter what type. At the end of the day, it's all about what you want. Feel free to reach out with any more questions. Good luck Jessica!