HOUSE HACKING IN PORTLAND

[Kaydin Vernon]

I would really like to find a way to make house hacking work for me and my now growing family!!! I would love any and all advice on just where to even begin to be honest. Big thanks to anyone who responds!!

[Karen Chow]

I've been looking at real estate here too, it looks pretty tough to cash flow a rental here. I'm a newbie so don't really have any advice for you. Good luck to your growing family!

[Hamp Lee III]

Welcome to BiggerPockets!

With house hacking, you’ll need to consider several factors:

1. Type of home. If you want to house hack immediately, you’ll need to either rent out rooms in a single family house or purchase a multifamily.

With a growing family, a multifamily is the best option as I’m sure you don’t want roommates.

In a lot of areas, including yours, the numbers don’t work for a duplex. You’ll need a tri- or quad-plex to cash flow right away.

If you can wait 12 months, consider a nice single family home.

Plus, many (if not all) down payment assistance programs in Oregon don’t accept multifamily units.

2. Start with the exit in mind. The house you select must cash flow AFTER you leave. Yes, the market can shift while you live in the home, but do your best to select a home has the potential to cash flow as a long-term rental from Day 1.

3. Start small, but take action. I’ve found that many people want instant results with no wait time. Real estate is a long game. Where there are opportunities to “score big” on a property, celebrate a small win. Take your time. Build long-term wealth slowly.

I hope this helps.

I wish you all the best.

[Zac Lindquist]

Hey Kaydin!

I live in Portland and started my investing journey through house hacking by purchasing a duplex. My wife and I did not have our baby yet, but this is a good strategy buying a small multi or a house with an adu as another option. 

Take advantage of the low down payment while also being able to use the rental income towards your dti. I will warn you though to look into the Multnomah county tenant laws to make sure you are doing everything correctly.

[Chris Davidson]

@Kaydin Vernon and @Karen Chow work on figuring out your goals and then needs for the house hack. Spending years looking for the perfect deal could just slow you down.  

Small multifamily is the cleanest forum, but also some of the hardest to get into. What a single family with an ADU or option to add an ADU easily be a good start. Is RV or Boat storage big in your area and could add a some income from just a larger lot.

Most importantly like @Zac Lindquist mentioned check out your counties tenant laws as a good deal can go sour quickly with bad management. 

[Ryan Thomson]

@Hamp Lee III Love that answer

[Ryan Thomson]

@Kaydin Vernon House Hacking is amazing. Here are some resources I found really helpful on my journey.

1. For podcasts I really like the Huse Hacking episodes on Bigger Pockets Podcast and other channels. Here is a playlist with the best House Hacking Podcasts I’ve found: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4A6uLsPfdWEMmJhG4TSjyb?si=743bb403548f47fb

2. Great beginners guide: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Ultimate_Beginners_Guide_BiggerPockets.pdf

3. The Book on House Hacking Strategies by Bigger Pockets is also a fantastic book

4. Happy to talk if you want more advice

[Ryan Thomson]

@Kaydin Vernon I would reach out to @Lawrence Potts he's a great house hacking agent in the area

[Lawrence Potts]

Quote from @Kaydin Vernon:

I would really like to find a way to make house hacking work for me and my now growing family!!! I would love any and all advice on just where to even begin to be honest. Big thanks to anyone who responds!!

Hey Kaydin! This is a great place to get started! A lot of us have made great comments on advice for house hacking. I would highly recommended finding a good lender too. Someone that understands what you’re trying to do and that understands real estate investing. Definitely good content on BP to listen to and read and lots of help on the forums here. Getting connected to local REI meet ups are huge as well!

[Carlos Ptriawan]

Quote from @Kaydin Vernon:

I would really like to find a way to make house hacking work for me and my now growing family!!! I would love any and all advice on just where to even begin to be honest. Big thanks to anyone who responds!!

 Some tips:
- Find house that has ADU and/or
- Find house that has basement and/or
- Find house that has two floors and multiple entry/exit doors.. 

Find the location of the sewer line if you have to build a bathroom, this is the first thing that I'm looking for as it may affect the difficulty of building bathroom if required.