Live-In Rental Options

[Will Prince]

Hey all,

My draw to real estate at this moment is to reduce my housing expenses. I'd love to find a property with a garage apartment, accessory dwelling unit, or a duplex to live in while also being able to have a renter pay for most of my mortgage. The problem is, in my area, garage apartments or ADUs don't really exist and duplexes are so few and far between that my two realtors have both come back and said they're not looking like a realistic option either.

I don't want to throw away money on rent anymore and I'd really rather not just rent rooms out of a traditional house to other people so I'd love to find some creative way around that. What would y'all do in my situation? I have very low needs. Prior to considering buying a rental house, I've thought through living in a van or box truck, plopping a shed on some land, or even living in an RV or on a sailboat.

Details about me:

25 years old

Live in Dallas/Fort Worth area and work from home 80% of the time

Credit score 800

$20k saved

$60k/yr annual salary