House Hacking My First Home

[Vincent Egan]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Bought this single family home with the purpose of house hacking. Rehabbed the property to add another bathroom and bedroom. I now have 2 roommates who pay down the mortgage.

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

I was interested in house hacking a small single family home as it felt like one of my only options out of college. I knew I could easily find tenants/roommates as the area is popular for young adults.

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

I found the deal through a family friend who is a real estate agent. We didn't negotiate the deal. The property was listed on the MLS. We put in a cash offer at asking price the morning it was listed and the offer was accepted right away. We knew the property had an absentee owner who would be wanting/willing to close fast so it made sense to provide them with their perfect solution.

How did you finance this deal?

To be competitive, I was able to generate a cash offer with the help of my family. Once the deal was complete, I used delayed financing to pay back the first 80% percent and created a second loan with my family to pay back the residual.

How did you add value to the deal?

I added value to the deal by doing a "live-in" renovation. I was able to renovate the first floor in a few months to got the first roommate in. I then spent the next year renovating to add a second bedroom and bathroom. This now allowed me to have 2 roommates to cover the mortgage.

What was the outcome?

I still own the house currently and still make small renovations here and there. I plan to keep this house and use it as either a rental home or continue to house hack it. It all depends if I can find another house to do something similar with in the future.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

I have heard it 100 times and still fell foriit but I definitely put too much money into the original renovation. I got more attached to the home as I lived there and did more than needed to make it a rental. I am happy that I did the "extras" because I get to enjoy them now but the ROI is not there. One challenge I found is balancing the work/life balance in the house. I can't enjoy living in the house sometimes because all I see are projects. It can be overwhelming.

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

One agent who i can highly recommend is Nancy Tochman based in Canton, MI. She was my agent when purchasing the home and helped explain everything to me along the way. Genuine, honest and had my best intentions the whole way through!