Skip to content

Let's keep in touch

Subscribe to our newsletter for timely insights and actionable tips on your real estate journey.

By signing up, you indicate that you agree to the BiggerPockets Terms & Conditions
×
Take Your Forum Experience
to the Next Level
Create a free account and join over 3 million investors sharing
their journeys and helping each other succeed.
Use your real name
By signing up, you indicate that you agree to the BiggerPockets Terms & Conditions.
Already a member?  Login here
Followed Discussions Followed Categories Followed People Followed Locations
House Hacking
All Forum Categories
Followed Discussions
Followed Categories
Followed People
Followed Locations
Market News & Data
General Info
Real Estate Strategies
Landlording & Rental Properties
Real Estate Professionals
Financial, Tax, & Legal
Real Estate Classifieds
Reviews & Feedback

User Stats

26
Posts
10
Votes
Denver Chavez
10
Votes |
26
Posts

House Hacking the Santa Barbara County area

Denver Chavez
Posted

Hi BP community!

Does anyone have any experience house hacking the Santa Barbara area? Such a premium and overpriced area seems like it would be difficult to offset what a mortgage would cost, in this current market. However, I'm curious if anyone has had any success in the surrounding markets like Buellton, Solvang, or Carpinteria.

Any tips or shared experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Most Popular Reply

User Stats

227
Posts
65
Votes
Baird King
  • Investor
  • Santa Barbara & Ventura
65
Votes |
227
Posts
Baird King
  • Investor
  • Santa Barbara & Ventura
Replied
Quote from @Denver Chavez:

Hi BP community!

Does anyone have any experience house hacking the Santa Barbara area? Such a premium and overpriced area seems like it would be difficult to offset what a mortgage would cost, in this current market. However, I'm curious if anyone has had any success in the surrounding markets like Buellton, Solvang, or Carpinteria.

Any tips or shared experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Hi Denver. My wife and are living in a house hack here in downtown SB. We converted the detached garage into a one bedroom ADU when we purchased the property in 2020. We now live in the ADU and rent out the front 2 bed 1 bath which covers 85% of the mortgage, and they are getting a screaming deal. We love our tenants, but if they left, we could get pretty close to our full mortgage payment covered with the front unit alone. If we lived in the front with a roommate and rented the ADU, our whole mortgage would be covered, no problem. Of course we got our place at a great time, but I would say with some creativity, you shouldn’t have a problem finding a property you could house hack that would cover your mortgage after some work and potentially a year or two of raising rents. All depends on how close quarters you are willing to live in with others.

We are just about to move to our new duplex in Ventura to rehab and do the same thing we did with our SB property. I am pretty certain we will be covering 75% of our mortgage by renting out one unit at that property immediately following rehab. 

 
Hope this helps.

  • Baird King
  • Loading replies...