What are house hacking strategies that others overlook in an expensive area?

[Tori Trent]

My husband and I want to buy our first house hack in an expensive area, Salt Lake. We have 3 kids so we need a private space with at least 3 bedrooms but we aren't afraid of getting creative and converting other spaces with untapped potential. I'd love your advice on how you look at the potential in spaces and how you've converted a home into 2 or more units. 

What untapped features in homes do you look for when looking at properties to house hack?

How have you creatively house-hacked? (large garage to convert into a unit, converted a shed, basement that you've subdivided into two units, adding a bedroom, etc.). 

In my area, you can have up to 4 units on the same property for residential areas. We are looking to buy a 5 bedroom+ home that we can convert to 2 or more units where we live in one unit. What features should we look for to accomplish this?

Another thing to consider is that large homes in my area are expensive so we will most likely not have a lot of money after the sale to rehab kitchens, bathrooms, and more from scratch. So we were thinking of buying a property with a finished basement unit to rent out until we can save up for adding another unit. 

What would you do? Thanks a ton!

[Mekkel Blanchard]

House Hacking is the way to go! Great to see someone else looking to do it with a family. I also have 3 kids and during my search I looked for a-lot of the opportunities in properties that others have mentioned above. We found a single family with a finished garage that had an in-law suite above the garage with its own private entrance and a kitchenette. We bought in 2020 and updated the kitchen and added a bathroom and now rent the in-law suite to traveling nurses! Keep searching and you are sure to score a deal, good luck!