All Forum Posts by: CherTong Her

Wow I'm blown away by all the responses and advice on this post. I thought I'd only get one or two responses, but you've all been so helpful, truly a great community and not toxic at all as some other forums can be. I'm now looking at a quadplex that would cash flow as owner occupied or fully rented, including other expenses, vacancy, repairs, capex, utilities, etc. but due to the amount of support going for a "less than what you're paying now is already a win" I'm going to continue analysing and looking for possible house hacks. Thank you BP community, I'll do my best to also add as much value to this community as I can!

@Michael Hastings Thank you for the advice! I Would have to agree with you completely and say that I kept just looking at numbers instead of my situation and what would work for me best! After properly analyzing the property in question, even if I were to update to 3 bed each side and move rents up to 1450, I would not cash flow on the property and would instead lose money. I'll continue to search until i find something a little more suitable and has better end goal prospects. Again, thank you very much for your response and advice!

I'm looking to house hack, but everywhere I'm seeing typically says I need to cash flow in order to "successfully" house hack. Do I absolutely need to pay zero dollars for all my expenses to "successfully" house hack or can I still pay a portion of my mortgage to be on my way to freedom? I'm literally days away from potentially buying and would appreciate some help. Some numbers below 260k Duplex 2bed1bath each side Mortgage - 1750 @ FHA 3.5% (roughly) Rent 1200 (one side) both units have potential to finish basement to add additional bed/bath, would bump rents up to 1450

First post here, not really sure what is acceptable or not so just going to write out my scenario. Basically about to make my first home purchase and do a house hack but there's two options and I would appreciate advice. Some basic background on myself, late 20's, married, currently renting, Minnesota. Dual income, no kids.

Option 1 - 180k Dupelx, 2 bed 1 bath each, so-so neighborhood, strong renter neighborhood

Option 2 - 220k Duplex, 2 bed 2 bath each, nicer neighborhood than option 1, strong renter neighborhood

I would be looking to do an FHA, but the difference in monthly mortgage is an additional $300-$400 per month if I went with option 2. I suppose my biggest question is, would it make more sense to buy the "nicer" option 2 house vs the "cheaper" option 1 house? I know that everyone always says, make sure it fits your criteria and don't deviate, however I'm also thinking about the difference of paying off my investment faster on option one vs appreciating value on option 2. Does it make more sense to go for a higher potential appreciating value or to go for a lower valued home that I would be able to pay off faster? Thanks

P.S. If I need to give more information to better answer the question, I'm more than happy to try and provide!