House Hacking in the Philly or Pittsburgh Area

[Niall Clancey]

Hey All, 

I am looking into house hacking in the Philly or Pittsburgh area and wanted to see if I could ask for some help for anyone who has done this in the past. 

I recently left Boston and moved back in with my parents because the city was becoming way to expensive. Over the last few years I have been able to save a little over $50K to put down on my first home. Part of the reason why I'm interested in house hacking is because I'm really tired of paying money on rent. I am open to the idea of purchasing a duplex or triplex. I just purchased the House Hacking book by Craig Cruelop to learn more about the process. I'm also taking a CAM course on the side to learn more about all the logistics of managing properties and being a landlord. 

I'm very new to this whole thing and would love to hear your advice! What neighborhoods should I look at? What do you think my buying power will be? What did you do when you did your first house hack in Pitt or Philly? What kind of expenses did you incur? What did you learn from this process that I should know before getting started? 

Thanks!