How to get started House Hacking: 3 BP episodes to review

Spring is in the air (if not the weather, location-dependent) and so comes the summer selling season! Thanks in part to an exploding BP community, and the emergence of the millennial generation eager to begin their investing careers, there is a lot of chatter in the forums and local REIAs about combining your personal residence with your first (or next) investment property. And thanks to BiggerPockets the process has never been more accessible and well-documented!

If you have the goal of using the house hack to minimize or eliminate your housing costs this year, here are 3 great BP resources to help get you there.

1) BP Episode 223

Why I recommend it: It's a big, beefy episode featuring a key thought leader in the space. Scott Trench's book "Set For Life" is the best starting resource for a fledgling house hacker, and this episode unpacks the book's philosophy at a very high level. It's also an early look into the guy who would go onto become the president of BiggerPockets.

2) BP Money Episode 9

Why I recommend it: Drew's perspective is especially interesting because he used both the FHA loan as well as the 203k renovation loan to build and grow wealth without putting much money down. A case study of house hacking in an expensive market (DC), the episode also discusses property management and mindset tricks to increase your personal savings rate.

3) BP Episode 293

Why I recommend it: This episode is my favorite for the psychological framework of what house-hacking can do for you. The key... think flexibility. Chad unpacks how he tailored his investing strategy to be able to retire early to travel the world with this family, and then to explore other investing strategies and entrepreneurial opportunities later in life. The episode also has a great breakdown of using "the stack" to start, then gradually accelerate your investment purchases over a 10-15 year period.

As Brandon Turner is fond of saying in his webinars "the truth is, investing in real estate is not jumping off a cliff, it's a journey along a well-worn path. There have been millions who have traveled this path before you, and millions that will come after you." Dive into the resources of BiggerPockets and begin your journey today!