L.A. Parent Starting her House Hacking Journey

[Angelica Morales]

Hello BiggerPockets!

My name is Angelica and I have always dreamed of owning a home. In fact, in high school, I won a small college scholarship that answered the question, "How will homeownership benefit you in the future?"  However, at the age of 22, the stork dropped off my toddler sibling and soon after a judge granted me permanent legal guardian.

For a long time buying a house seemed out of the question. I drained my retirement accounts, maxed out my credit cards, commuted a total of 3 hours a day to get to and from work, and had to raise a small child while attempting to reverse the traumas he had been through. But alas, the choppy waters have calmed and here we are, 8 years later, ready to finally start the homeownership process.

 This time I'm not alone. I have my brother, a healthy, happy, 11 year old, and my friend who has helped me with my brother so that I can finish school and grow my professional career. We currently live in a 3 bedroom, 2 bath house but are tired of renting. It's time to have something of our own. Us living together, in a home I purchase, will be our version of house hacking. 

My biggest goal will be to minimize housing expenses as much as possible. My mortgage must not exceed $200 more than what I currently pay in rent. Thus, I will be looking for a bargain. Maybe a 2 bedroom that I can convert into a 3 or some other form of creative strategy. Enter BiggerPockets! I am currently in the middle of saving for a downpayment and inhaling any real estate book I can phase but my goal is to be in a home by 2022. (Hopefully sooner!) I look forward to meeting new people, making connections, and learning from everything this platform has to offer. Thanks for reading!