What do you look for in a home you wish to house hack?

Question

Hello, I am looking for a home in the Orlando area and slightly beyond that can be used as a vacation home, and also a rental. The wish is to have an in law suite, ADU, or portion of the home that can be enclosed and made into an efficiency apartment that can be used for the vacation home. The rest of the home would be rented short term, mid term, or if necessary, then long term. What do you look for when looking at traditional homes online (without having to drive all over and look at a ton of homes that will never work) to see if you can modify the home to make it work for this scenario?

Account Closed · Answer

I'm looking for a 1 floor multifamily that I can house hack 1 unit as my primary and rent out the other units!

Adrian Lammersdorf-Scioll · Answer

Assuming you live in Orlando, you are probably best off finding a duplex/triplex/quad.  There's plenty around the Orlando area.  A good trick if your having trouble finding one that will cash flow is reaching out to owners that have had their property for over 10 years.  Sometimes you can find someone that is willing to sell to you at a discount since they are tired of owning it, and want to use the money to focus on a more passive investment.

Ryan Thomson · Answer

Hey @Rebecca Readus I have done several house hacks in Colorado Springs and my clients are often looking for this set up. You asked for what to look for to convert a single family home, but that might not be your only option. Here are things to look for:

Walk-out basement:Not sure they have basements in Orlando. One strategy is to purchase a property with a walk-out basement and rent out the basement as a separate unit.

Duplex, triplex, quadplex: Another option is to purchase a multi-unit property, such as a duplex, triplex, or quadplex, and rent out the additional units.

House and cottage: Purchase a property with a separate cottage or guest house and rent out the cottage while living in the main house. Or vice versa depending on how comfortable and profitable you would like to be.

Garage conversion: Convert your garage into a separate studio apartment. By building a shower and a kitchenette you can turn the garage into an apartment. Your biggest costs will probably be connecting to the sewer and getting water/electricity into the garage.

Stephen DeThample · Answer

First thing I narrow down is available parking.  Some homes have lots of rooms, but no parking for the people.  Most agents never bring this up.  Speaking from past experience, parking is the biggest deal breaker.  You can check Apple or Google maps to get an idea of available parking spots.

James Carlson · Answer

@Rebecca Readus

A couple thoughts:

-- When working with house-hacking clients, I set up searches for listings with the words "walk-out" and any derivation of those words in the listing. (Your MLS might even have "walk-out" as a box listing agents check, but I wouldn't rely on that because a lot of agents won't necessarily click that.)

-- Not sure of home styles in Orlando. In Denver and Colorado Springs here, there's a style from the late 50s and early 60s that's great for the house-hack hopeful where when you enter the backdoor you can either turn left/right through a doorway into the kitchen or you go straight down a stairway into the basement.  (See example below.) You put a door on that second doorway into the kitchen, and you kind of have a separate basement entrance.

Be aware of your laws around ADUs and basement units. To be an official ADU, you've got to be the right zoning and jump through hoops. It's better to just not have a stove in there -- the triggering offense for most city code violations -- and do a coffee bar, etc. For STRs/Airbnb, it's totally fine.

I know here in Denver, the city has cracked down on short-term rental permits for unauthorized basement units.

Good luck!

Rebecca Readus · Answer

Account Closed where are you looking? I'm in Orlando.

Jay Thomas · Answer

Finding a house in the Orlando area that doubles as both a vacation home and rental property with in-law suite or ADU potential is an exciting prospect!Check the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, aiming for at least 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, ideally 4 bedrooms with 2 or 3 bathrooms to offer flexibility, with one bathroom potentially dedicated to the in-law suite/ADU. Use keywords like "mother-in-law suite," "casita," or "bonus room" in the listing description to indicate separate living areas. Review floor plans and virtual tours, paying attention to layouts with separate entrances, private bathrooms, and potential kitchenette spaces for the in-law suite/ADU. Read property descriptions carefully, looking for mentions of separate living areas, private entrances, or wet bars as positive signs. Beyond the listing, use Google Maps and Street View to assess the property layout and surrounding area. Once you've shortlisted potential properties, research local zoning regulations and schedule physical viewings to confirm modification potential and overall condition, considering bringing along a contractor for a preliminary assessment of conversion feasibility.

Rick Albert · Answer

A couple of things:

Check ADU laws. In California they cannot be used as short term rentals. The purpose of them is to create a larger housing supply.

Floorplans are important. I would ask agents for floorplans if they aren't already posted online. This way you can get a sense of what you can and cannot do before seeing it.

Often times these communities are tract homes. Once you see a floorplan you like, maybe set radius criteria for similar homes. Once you have seen one, you have seen them all.

What do you look for in a home you wish to house hack?

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