House hacking as a family — what is the best market?

Question

We are a family of 5 with kids aged 1, 2, and 4. We are currently living in the San Diego area. We:

- want to start house hacking- work 100% remote for our own businesses- are looking to move about 1 year from now- should have about $50,000 saved for a down paymentWhich market would you choose in this situation?

We are having a hard time narrowing down our options. Would love somewhere like Maui, but it looks to be out of our budget! :D

We're not interested in areas we've already lived: Portland, Phoenix/Scottsdale, Southern California.

This is a duplicate post made accidentally. But I can't delete it.

Account Closed · Answer

Columbus, OH may be a good area for your family. $50,000 as a down payment will give you enough flexibility to find a good deal in this market. Strong mix of cashflow and appreciation as well!

Lumi Ispas · Answer

Chicago is the best place. We have all kinds of suburbs and school districts, and the city has over 77 official neighborhoods. It's one of the best markets to buy and have positive cash flow.

Jimmy Lieu · Answer

Hi Nicholas, I'm actually from Portland, Oregon myself and decided to move to Columbus Ohio to start real estate investing because of the better real estate opportunities here (way more cash flow and appreciation here!). I personally love Columbus Ohio and as someone who works with a lot of out of state investors - there's so many catalysts for why you should invest here. Specifically, there's job growth (Intel, Honda, Amazon, Nationwide, etc) and the population is growing (unlike Cleveland or Cincy). I really see Columbus Ohio as an extremely safe bet for the next 10-20 years. Plus, there's still so many positive cash flowing and 1% deals here in Columbus Ohio. Just this month, I’m under contract for my clients on 5 investment properties including over 2 BRRRRs and flips so there’s definitely tons of opportunity here. As a local investor and agent here in Columbus, let me know if you have any questions or want to connect!

Dave Skow · Answer

@Nicholas Walker thanks 1) many people that buy and house hack use FHA loans ...this requires a 3.5% of price down payment ....2) if self employed - get pre approved to make sure you can get a loan especially if you plan to relocate 3) once you have a feel of what you can and want to qualify for - this will help determine where you might be able to buy

Alan Asriants · Answer

What kind of lifestyle do you want to have? What attractions do you want to have nearby? From there you can narrow down your market.

Get preapproved and know your budget - this will narrow down your search a ton

there's no "best" market, just the market thats best for you.

I hear florida and texas are some hotspots now.

Once you find your area, feel free to reach out anytime and I can help connect you to my network of realtors

Min Zhang · Answer

• House hacks are a great way to get into real estate with minimal down and reduce your living expenses while having a tenant pay down the mortgage. Once you get a house hack then look at investing in other states with large population growth and job opportunities.

Mario I Fernandez · Answer

Hey Nicholas for your needs I think that South Florida will make it.

Port St Lucie is a very good place to rise children with a very good school system.

Hope that this helps.

House hacking as a family — what is the best market?

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