House hacking for Beginners in Pittsburgh

[Ashley Harris]

My husband and I are new to real estate investing. We want to begin by house hacking with a duplex in order to eliminate our current rent payment and have more cash to invest. 

Need help finding a duplex … tips, tricks, advice, or properties welcome!

[Gregory Schwartz]

When considering house hacking, the key is to determine two things: how much you can afford and how much you're willing to sacrifice.

For instance, it's much easier to live for free through house hacking if you're willing to sleep on the couch and rent out all the bedrooms on Airbnb. However, not many people are eager to do that.

Once you’ve established your budget and your level of comfort with sacrifices, buy the best deal in your market. Don’t wait 2-3 years searching for the "perfect house hack."

In our case, my wife and I could afford a run-down fourplex that needed extensive work and was infested with roaches. We were willing to make that sacrifice, so we pulled the trigger.

GOOD LUCK!