Post Grad House Hacking Feasability

[Jeff Wang]

Hi, long time listener, first time caller, I just made this account today to post.

I'm starting my final year of undergrad with a job offer to work remotely at a small tech company. It's not a mind-boggling salary, but it's enough, and the economical decision would be to move into a LCOL area and thrive. The issue is I've lived in cities my whole life and feed off social life, something I'm already concerned with having when I'm working remotely.

I'm currently eyeing cities like Chicago and NYC, the latter of which I have not lived in and have been doing some digging on. A lot of my friends and other new grad young professionals seem to congregate in areas like Midtown and lower Manhattan or in Williamsburg/Bushwick and Downtown Brooklyn.

I know house hacking isn't impossible in NYC, but my most ideal areas with people my age and high traffic are also everyone else's ideal places to live, and are much harder to house hack. I wanted to inquire and poke around on whether this is something feasible or if I should look towards other places (like Chicago). 

I'd love to talk, listen, and please feel free to realign my expectations or provide some experience and anecdotes - please go easy on me. Thank you in advance for reading!

[Jana Crum]

Hey Jeff, first congrats on getting a job offer at the start of senior year! Have you checked out the Phoenix Area? I'll offer it as a non-snowy alternative & we are the 5th largest city in the country! We have a ton of new grads come here and relocate to the Mid-town/Uptown/Arcadia areas which are all super close to Downtown Phoenix & Scottsdale. Plus each of those areas has a great amount of duplexes, triplexes, and fourplexes to offer as a house hack! I'd love to connect & enjoy your last year of undergrad!

[Jonathan Klemm]

Hello there @Jeff Wang - Awesome to see you jumping on the forums for the first, but hopefully not the last time!

I may be a little bit biased, but I believe Chicago is one of the best cities in the country to house hack.   You can find great 2-4 unit buildings at reasonable prices (compared to New York City), and many of them need to be fixed up, which is an added bonus of equity if you are willing to tackle a renovation.

I'd suggest somewhere along the blue line (train) in the northwest part of the city, where you can find some priceless neighborhood vibes.

Plus, the real estate community is unmatchable...tons of people willing to give you a hand up.

[Paul De Luca]

@Jeff Wang

Welcome! I'm an agent & house hacker in Chicago and I work with a lot of house hackers in Chicago. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions and I could also send you a Chicago House Hacking guide I made earlier this year.

[Abel Curiel]

Quote from @Jeff Wang:

Hi, long time listener, first time caller, I just made this account today to post.

I'm starting my final year of undergrad with a job offer to work remotely at a small tech company. It's not a mind-boggling salary, but it's enough, and the economical decision would be to move into a LCOL area and thrive. The issue is I've lived in cities my whole life and feed off social life, something I'm already concerned with having when I'm working remotely.

I'm currently eyeing cities like Chicago and NYC, the latter of which I have not lived in and have been doing some digging on. A lot of my friends and other new grad young professionals seem to congregate in areas like Midtown and lower Manhattan or in Williamsburg/Bushwick and Downtown Brooklyn.

I know house hacking isn't impossible in NYC, but my most ideal areas with people my age and high traffic are also everyone else's ideal places to live, and are much harder to house hack. I wanted to inquire and poke around on whether this is something feasible or if I should look towards other places (like Chicago). 

I'd love to talk, listen, and please feel free to realign my expectations or provide some experience and anecdotes - please go easy on me. Thank you in advance for reading!

 Hello Jeff and welcome to the forums!

This is where the BP virtual community comes alive so its great that you're putting yourself out there.

When comparing househack options in multiple markets, I'd recommend using @Jon Schwartz's househack calculator. 

It will help you analyze and compare returns, length of stay/occupation, equity accumulation, rent growth and more. This is also a useful tool when trying to decide between renting, househacking, or purchasing a single-family residence/condo apartment.

NYC househacking is possible but some areas will be more competitive than others. Areas like Williamsburg have small multi-family properties trading at a premium when compared to Bushwick, Bed Stuy, Ridgewood, and surrounding neighborhoods. The rent growth and appreciation in Williamsburg is attractive but the annual returns will likely be lower.

If you decide on NYC, you may want to target househack properties with additional income potential like ADUs, storage and private parking.

All the best!

Abel

[Crystal Smith]

Quote from @Jeff Wang:

Hi, long time listener, first time caller, I just made this account today to post.

I'm starting my final year of undergrad with a job offer to work remotely at a small tech company. It's not a mind-boggling salary, but it's enough, and the economical decision would be to move into a LCOL area and thrive. The issue is I've lived in cities my whole life and feed off social life, something I'm already concerned with having when I'm working remotely.

I'm currently eyeing cities like Chicago and NYC, the latter of which I have not lived in and have been doing some digging on. A lot of my friends and other new grad young professionals seem to congregate in areas like Midtown and lower Manhattan or in Williamsburg/Bushwick and Downtown Brooklyn.

I know house hacking isn't impossible in NYC, but my most ideal areas with people my age and high traffic are also everyone else's ideal places to live, and are much harder to house hack. I wanted to inquire and poke around on whether this is something feasible or if I should look towards other places (like Chicago). 

I'd love to talk, listen, and please feel free to realign my expectations or provide some experience and anecdotes - please go easy on me. Thank you in advance for reading!

 We have a lot of family in the NYC area and our daughter lives in Queens. I have not been keeping up with what areas are gentrifying or on the verge of gentrifying but if I was to invest in NYC the first areas I would like at were the locations that are either right on the verge or are changing.  The other thing to consider is not to do it on your own. See fi you can find some like minded partners that you can stand to live with for a short period of time

With regards to Chicago- Same advice as NYC but the price points are going to be significantly less than NYC.