House hacking in Plano/Frisco TX

[Jeannette Tang]

Hello! I'm pretty new to both real estate investing and BiggerPockets, so please forgive me if this has been asked before.

I recently read The House Hacking Strategy by Craig Curelop and believe that this may be a great way for me to start my real estate investing journey. Looking at available houses around me, I'm getting anxious that maybe where I live doesn't make sense to house hack. 

I do not own a car and DFW is not quite public transportation nor bike friendly, so I prefer to live conveniently close to work (I walk to work right now). I work right at the border of Plano/Frisco, which the area has grown exponentially the last few years, making the housing prices go way up. Not sure if the numbers and the DFW lifestyle make sense for me to house hack in this city.

Any advice? If you're in the Plano/Frisco (or just DFW) area and currently house hack, I'd love to hear how you're doing and how you got started!

[Jorge Gonzalez]

@Jeannette Tang

I’d really suggest if you’re just starting out, purchase a rent ready home, as in something that looks really nice, maybe recently remodeled, but not necessarily a brand new home. For example, my homes were built in the 1960s and 1970s and were recently remodeled and that is structurally good such as foundation, roof, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, etc. The last thing you want is purchasing a nightmare of a fixer upper and you never invest in another home because of a bad first experience. I try to purchase something I described at about market price or below market value, look at comparables carefully. These remodeled homes usually are sold at a premium so do your research and due dilligence about areas, I know the Plano, Carrollton, and North Dallas areas well enough so you can always reach out about sub markets within these cities and surrounding areas.