Basement House Hack to Supercharge Savings

[Tiara Jackson]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Cash invested: $2,600

We converted our basement bedroom into a studio apartment as a househack for our primary residence. We rent the space out as a short/mid term rental to minimize our living expenses and super charge our savings for future investments.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

This was an easy way for us to leverage space we already had to bring in extra income without inconveniencing our family.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

We started out by renting out a bedroom upstairs but after the first tenant we thought about ways to enhance the house hack, so we decided to close in the bedroom/bathroom downstairs and add a kitchenette to convert it into a studio apartment.

How did you finance this deal?

We invested $2600 into the space to purchase the kitchenette and hire contractors to frame up the door to close in the space.

What was the outcome?

We've been able to charge double what we were charging for the bedroom rental and we've been able to market to travel nurses and short term travelers.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

We have been fortunate to have excellent tenants, we run background checks on all applicants and enforce the rules we have outlined for consistency.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

No