GTA house hacking in recent 5 years

[Violet G.]

hi everyone,

I'm new to real estate and i've listened to many BP podcasts, especially the rookie podcast. I'm located in the GTA. it's really hard to get the ball rolling b/c most podcasts feature someone from the states (lower CoL) or someone who started in the GTA a decade ago when it was more affordable. I was wondering if anyone has experience house hacking in the GTA recently.

[Nick Vazquez]

I second the advice that has already been given above. Try to find a property that you can rent out the basement or the upper levels and live in the other area. You can even look into renting it by the room if you’re ok with less comfort. 

Another thing to consider about rent hacking is you make money and build wealth in real estate in more ways than just rental income - which if you rent hack you are losing all the other benefits of real estate (loan pay down, appreciation, tax benefits). So besides it being hard to do legally, that’s a negative as well. 

It is tough to buy in the GTA as prices are high but I’d say try to find something that would work (either as a up/down duplex or a rent by the room situation). If it’s under $1M and you can put under 20% down then that’s great but your monthly payment will be higher. Maybe even consider going a little further out of the GTA. It really just depends on what you can afford. Either way, your living expenses will be reduced if you end up house hacking.