Feedback on househacking

[Andrew Stephens]

Good morning all,

It’s a slow day at work and I’m looking at my finances to be able to buy a property soon. I am 19 so I have some time but I am struggling to save money to pay for a down payment but want to invest quick.

I have about 3,500 in assets and stocks but would like to keep those long term and I have about 2000 in cash.

Finding a property in Tacoma Wa in my price range is starting to become a challenge and I’m thinking about a townhouse for a first house hack.

If anyone knows a good way to get down payment assistance or househacking a townhouse or condo I’d like to get in touch.

Any tips on house hacking in an expensive would be greatly appreciated.

[Michael Haas]

Hey @Andrew Stephens - congrats on starting early! My wife and I bought our first househack at 21 years old, but you've got us beat at 19.

You'd be able to find a deal for that amount of cash if you were to use a downpayment assitance program, like the one offered by the Washington State Housing Finance Commission. WSHFC is a non-profit dedicated to helping every Washingtonian own their own home, and this program allows us to take out a loan with 3% down, then get 4% down payment assistance so the cash required to close is super-minimal (as little as $6,000 in some cases, depends on the purchase price of the property though).

This strategy works really well when you can combine it with house hacking. One reason this works so well is that owner-occupant financing (when you live in the house) has lower interest rates than investor/landlord financing, so you get the best of both worlds if you rent part of your primary residence out – rental income, tax deductions, and low interest rates on your home loan.

Here’s the info on the program: http://www.wshfc.org/buyers/do... . You need to attend a homebuyer’s class taught by a WSHFC trained Realitor and Lender, I’m trained and am teaching a few of these early next year. Message me if you’re interested and want me to send you details once the location and time of those Homebuyer classes is set, and if you have any questions about how this works. Always happy to grab a coffee or chat on the phone as well.