All Forum Posts by: Bradley Dosch

Hey Chase, super cool! My advice would be to put as little down as you can and also to get clear on what your goals are. Figure out what you enjoy doing, the rest will fall into place. Owner occupant guidelines say you need to "intend" to live there for a year. I've heard of people moving onto the next house hack in six months. This is a good question for a lender. 

Hey Gabriella! Super cool to hear you want to get started. Thanks for making this post. I bought my first house hack in Denver and now I'm doing it in the Seattle/Tacoma area. In pricey markets, creativity is key! There are always ways to invest/house hack in expensive markets. It all comes down to what you want and what your goals are

Hey Joe, super exciting you want to get started!

I'm of the opinion that taking a 10% penalty is unnecessary. I love the eagerness but I don't think that's the right move. I would just keep the invested funds in the 401k and let compound interest to continue to work its magic.

You could take a loan out against your 401k. Solid benefits here but also a decent amount of risk. 

It seems like you're a pretty frugal guy and can save up pretty quickly. I'd also say $45k is more than you need to get started house hacking - unless you plan on doing it in Newport Beach lol. I'd say find a more affordable area in OC that's still a reasonable commute for you and house hack there. Remember for your first home purchase, you can use 3% down conventional. There are also so many down payment assistance programs (check out link below), esp for first time home buyers. Lots of ways to bring little money to closing.

Do you have any other funds that are more liquid than your 401k? I've thought about this same question and still think it's not wise to take the penalty and tax hit when you really don't need to. 

All depends on what you want. If managing STRs excites you then follow that. If having roommates and renting out by the room seems lighter, go with that. Or if you don't want to do anything, hire a property manager and have them do it.

For my first house hack I did a mix. Two of the bedrooms, I had long term roommates in and the other bedroom i did on Airbnb. I really enjoyed the roommate situation honestly. You can all build good chemistry and create systems for a comfortable living situation. The profits on rent by the room are still very good and reliable. Even during the pandemic, there was plenty of demand for one bedroom in a house with other people haha. Ethically, I think long term housing is the right thing to do but that's just my opinion. The demand for housing is there, no matter what type. At the end of the day, it's all about what you want. Feel free to reach out with any more questions. Good luck Jessica!

Hey Qiana, awesome question here! House hacking is definitely the way to go - you can get started with some awesome financing and gain some great experience. Talk to a talented lender who is familiar with house hacking and they'll help you figure out the details

Hey Gregory, I love the creative mindset you got. I think your idea could certainly work well and it's great to hear you want to help your little brother out. This sounds like a great question for a local lender or real estate agent

Hey Amy, super cool to hear your story. That sounds like a fun field of study and job field to be in. I hope you enjoy it.

My vote is always for house hacking! I think it's the lowest barrier of entry and you'll learn so much. The financing you can get for it is magical it's so good. I think buying, owning and holding a place by yourself right out of college is a powerful wealth building move.

Of course do whatever is best for you! It's your life and you get to make the decisions that fit your life/goals. Let us know how your journey goes and feel free to reach out with any more questions. 

I think the right thing to do is to not kick the current tenant out, especially if he takes care of the place and is a good person. You could talk to him and see if he would be cool with you Airbnbing the other room in there. If not, breaking even for a year isn't the end of the world. Providing long term affordable housing does more good in the community than short term rentals IMHO

Hey Ben, great to hear you're getting started! Don't have much insight on the area but always happy to connect and talk about REI

Hey Stephan, this plan you laid out is genius and powerful! I love this idea of serial house hacking and your financing plan will make it even more sweet. The only thing I think I can offer advice for is on the expensive market, in your case, San Diego. This one depends on your goals. If your main goal is to cut down your living expenses and start building wealth, then buying a house hack that doesn't cash flow is a great move. But if you're going to move out and keep them as rentals, you'll want to make sure you can cash flow at least a little bit. It's a terrific plan and it sounds like appreciation, loan paydown and tax benefits will be your real wealth building drivers in this expensive market!

Another thing to do in expensive markets is to get creative. Usually just buying a place and renting it out traditionally is tough. I like to look for extra spaces (like basements, ADUs, MILs, etc) and also rent by the room. Takes a little more effort but can be worth it.

Good luck to you and your wife!