All Forum Posts by: Antony Munoz

Take your time and keep reading BP and other inform sources for a couple years. You could follow either strategy. But get rid of the "as soon as possible" attitude. That could lead you to make dumb risks and mistakes.

@Antony Munoz welcome! House hacking is an incredible way to ease your way into real estate investing while minimizing your living expenses. House hacking is a great strategy and works in any market. We're currently house hacking a duplex in SE PDX and our tenants are paying 70 percent of our mortgage payment. 

If you are using a low down payment option, it's not really realistic to expect to be cash flow positive while you’re house hacking and living in the property. However, if your house hack reduced your housing costs from $1,200 to $600 per month, would that not be a win? That would create an extra $600 per month of “cash flow” that you could save and invest in your next property. Keep in mind the property must cashflow after you move out for the deal to make sense (in most scenarios). When an investor is looking at being cash flow positive, they are typically putting down 20 percent or more. If you are in a high demand metro area, it's simply not realistic to expect to be cash flow positive if you are putting down 0-10%.

Now if that is all the capital you have, that is what it is. Is it better to keep renting than to buy? Typically it is better to buy. Better to build your own equity through the debt paydown, enjoy the tax benefits of ownership, and garner the equity of an appreciating asset. You just can't expect to cash flow on an initial purchase with a low down payment. Now with time and rent growth, what could be a negative cash flow property might very well become a cash flow king, but that takes patience.

Another way to increase cash flow would be renting out rooms in the unit you live in, either Airbnb or longer term.

And think of it this way too... if you house hack 3 properties, and then 1031 exchange them into larger properties you'll likely achieve finanial independence within 6-10 years.... just by house hacking.

Hit me up if you want to chat about different strategies to get started in the area and then how to responsibly grow your portfolio.

I am looking into the same thing. From my understanding one strategy is no better than another, it is more so what is best for YOU. However, I am new to this too so also look at what other people are saying. 

Taylor 

Hey Antony, my first house hack deal was 6 years ago. It definitely ended up a great for me. I am in the construction field and was able to do most repairs myself or had made friends on the job to help with advice or paid them to help. I worked overtime when I could and made extra payments on the mortgage then completely paid off the mortgage. Now I plan to use a home equity line of credit as a down payment on a new property if I do not have the cash to do so. 

I am new to bigger pockets and came up with this plan before hand so there may be another plan that may be better. At some point, I'd recommend starting an LLC for some asset protection. I would also recommend setting up a separate checking account to deposit all rent and purchase anything property related to help keep track of expenses. Good luck!

@Antony Munoz

House hacking is a great strategy and a great way to get started. It is possible in any market, but depending on the property values and rental values will determine how much you will be able to offset your living expenses. There are also variables of getting a sfh and renting by the room, buying a 2-4 unit multifamily, and renting via long term lease vs short term rental that will determine your net living expenses. Happy to talk more about it!

Hey @Antony Munoz, congrats on taking the first step and deciding to house hack!  Yes, it is very doable here, I have helped a lot of people house hack in our area.  The one thing you need to know is that you are not going to be able to live for free.  Generally speaking, you will be cutting your living expenses in half (which is still awesome) and you will be gaining about 7%-10% in appreciation per year.  

If you want to talk about different strategies I would be happy to help you lay out a plan for moving forward.  

@Antony Munoz For 22 years I owned and lived in bed and breakfasts so in effect was house hacking. I then bought a duplex seeing the upside of having a tenant to pay my bills. I’ve since sold the B&Bs but still live in the duplex and have expanded my portfolio by 8, soon to be 10 doors. I hope to continue expanding with more properties as time goes by. But I highly recommend house hacking!