House Hacking.. living with college students and saving a ton

We have been house hacking for the past 5 years. When we were searching for our first house we were looking for a property to meet the following conditions:

1. We had to feel conditions were safe for our infant
2. We were able to rent a portion of the property

The university I worked for and the city provided benefits to purchasing the house we selected to the tune of $10,000. We were also able to negotiate $6,000 of settlement assistance. So our total out of pocket to purchase our house was about $34,000.

The house is arranged so that our grad students are able to room upstairs with a bathroom and then we share our kitchen, laundry, and other spaces. Our section of the house is a master bedroom separated from the house with an additional room.

So we are in close proximity to our housemates. While not always the best living arrangement, definitely not for everyone, it has certainly paved the way for us to save a substantial amount of money.

We have dealt with the tenants that run upstairs when you get home because they are hermits to the one that destroys furniture and then comes kicking and screaming at your door after you tell them you are holding their security deposit. This was really an interesting story and maybe I'll add another post about this at a later date. The kicking and screaming was just the tip of the iceberg.

All things considered, I'm still glad we are sharing our house. In fact, we have 1 student signed for this year and are working to locate a second for this coming year.

Anyone can make excuses not to house hack but I think the benefits outweigh the cons.