Considering House Hacking

[Matthew Dembski]

Hello Everyone,

I am located in the Buffalo, NY area. I notice there is a significant amount of single family homes on the market. But not that many multi-family homes that are in "decent" shape. As in say minor cosmetic or easily replaceable or changeable features. Does anyone have experience generating off-market deals? I scope through FB Marketplace and Craigslist as well and have not found additional properties. I greatly appreciate any input. Thanks in advance!

[Jake Lipowski]

Hey Matthew, are you looking within the city limits of Buffalo? There always seems to be a pretty good amount of duplexes on the market at any given time within the city (although there definitely seems to be a short supply at the current moment). I wouldn't necessarily go through the hassle of trying to get off market deals yet with a traditional house hack, given that most off market deals are ones that sellers either want to close quick, all cash, etc. The best benefit of house hacking in my opinion is being able to take advantage of traditional bank financing with 3.5%-5% down payments for a primary residence. You can pay a retail price because your ROI is still going to be high given your low down payment. Plus the property taxes within the city almost makes any house hack with that low of a down payment a good deal and your mortgage is almost guaranteed to be covered by the other unit. It might be more beneficial to wait until the spring when more stuff comes to market, even though I know the feeling of thinking you're missing out with every day that passes. Hope that helps!