Is San Diego a good place to House Hack?

Question

Hey BP, I'm Ryan!

I'm 17 atm but turning 18 in December and planning to move out June 2021. I was wondering if I could get an opinion about House hacking in San Diego. What would be the pros and the cons? I really like the weather and activities here, but I am also open to house hacking in other markets such as Las Vegas. What would you do?

Connor Nellans · Answer

@Ryan Phu not sure what your financial picture looks like, but as an 18 year old I imagine your credit history as well as income may not be quite high enough yet to get into multi-unit property (which, agreeing with others above, is one of the best ways to go about it here in SD). That being said, you could try the rent-by-the room model of house hacking, this would allow you to get into a lower cost property and still house hack. Best of luck!

Twana Rasoul · Answer

@Ryan Phu house hacking a 2-4 unit property is the absolute best way to start your investing career here, especially at such an early age.

Best of luck!

Donald E Appleberry · Answer

Hey man!

Good to see you're still at it! House Hacking in SD is definitely the best way to get started here. Keeps your costs low and you still get to enjoy the property and San Diego. If its your first property and you don't have a lot of capital set aside for potential repairs I'd suggest looking at a duplex or single family with an ADU.

Keep crushing.

Joshua J Cawthorn · Answer

Hi Ryan,

Everyone in this thread is encouraging you that house hacking is a good strategy, and I'm glad they are. I certainly agree, especially because that's how I personally got started here in San Diego: bought a 2 bed/2 bath house in 2014 that was (at the time) "expensive" according to all the voices of anyone in my circle. At that time in the real estate market, assets had been steadily rising for a few years and "everyone" was certain that a crash was coming. Just looming right around the corner. Therefore, this was unequivocally the worst possible time to buy.

Screw 'em.

Ignorantly, I bought more house than I could afford. I'd never heard of BiggerPockets, I hadn't read Rich Dad/Poor Dad (yet). Like most people, I just grew up thinking I was "supposed to" buy a house. I had the VA loan available to me, so I shopped around and ultimately bought a house that I could literally barely afford. Out of necessity, I rented out the master bedroom and I lived in the other, much smaller bedroom. And that's how I afforded the mortgage on that house for a few years!

After reading Rich Dad/Poor Dad and discovering BP and subsequently learning about BRRRR, I refinanced that house out of the VA loan into a conventional loan and used the VA loan to buy an owner-occupied duplex. Rented out one half, lived in the other half, and so forth.

Just wanted to share with you my personal experience of house hacking in San Diego and also confirm that yes, I personally believe it is an excellent strategy for getting started in real estate in one of the most expensive markets in the world.

Eric Yu · Answer

CC: @Ian Jimeno who has previously done a house hack in San Diego.

Bradley Dosch · Answer

Hey Ryan, good question and great that you're starting so young. To answer your question - everywhere is a good place to house hack! San Diego is no exception, Las Vegas is no exception. Both places will have plenty of people looking to rent and great appreciation. I would focus more on where you want to live and house hack accordingly.

Ryan Phu · Answer

@Connor Nellans That is true. Regarding my credit history, I have been an authorized user for my dads cards for a while but I am not sure if that will be enough to get into a multi-family. My dad has really good credit (800+) and so I'm hoping they'll see it as enough but the biggest thing will be my proof of income because I am relying on wholesaling. I don't know what my situation will be next year but I want to be able to have a consistent wholesaling business as proof. I apparently have to be consistent enough and pay myself through a w-2 to be able to work that out according to my mentor. Thanks for bringing that up Connor, I really appreciate your feedback!

Kevin Gamboa · Answer

@Ryan Phu I think that house hacking is the most tangible way to get your feet wet in real estate investing, especially in San Diego’s expensive market. If you have a situation where you could do it, or if you could create one, I say give it a shot. I started house hacking this year here in San Diego and it helped me build up more capital for my next project. Good luck

Is San Diego a good place to House Hack?

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