How to house hack in a crazy market

Question

I need more house hacking ideas. We are renting a home in North Seattle. We are a family of 5 and can’t currently house hack in our current home and have even considered moving out of our area or state to have more options. We would really like to stay in Snohomish County. I know there are more ideas to house hack that don’t involve a million dollar home with a mother in law. Or a home where I’m sleeping in the living room with my husband and children. Tell me other options!

Jess Haas · Answer

I’ve seen a few split level homes in the area. With a little imagination you can add a second entrance and kitchen(long term rental or kitchenette(short term rental). That can cut costs without having people live inside your home/unit. Are you looking specifically in Edmonds?

Multi families near the city are hard to come by and if you can find them they need a good amount of work(at least for my living standards). I think there are definitely some good options out there. It just depends on how far you are willing to commute.

I have found north Seattle to be a bit more expensive than south Seattle. For us our first house hack was a pretty large house(in Beacon Hill). I have found a few of these crazy large houses here and we are working on our second right now.

Jason Johnson · Answer

Annie,

House hacking with a family is definitely a challenge.  Having an RV has made some of our rehab work more manageable.

jason

Annie Johnson · Answer

We are renting in edmonds now.

Annie Johnson · Answer

Thank you for responding! Both our jobs are in edmonds but we are willing to travel. I’d like to stay in Snohomish County. I’ve looked at many split levels but whenever I run the numbers they are crap. Buying a home for $600,000 and putting in a kitchen for $1200-$1500 in return for rent isn’t going to be worth it for us. And paying cash for a home probably won’t work either. But we are open to more ideas.

Theresa Harris · Answer

@Annie Johnson Do you have a rental on North Seattle or are you living in a rental?  What about looking at a small town or slightly rural area?  It might increase your commute time, but decrease costs.  Can you find a duplex or something that needs a bit of work?

How to house hack in a crazy market

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