I have heard that if you purchase a smaller, cheaper, or "worse" house that some lenders might not believe you when you say you will live there. But I am learning that especially in HCOL areas, going "small" may ensure repeatability and being able to move into a second, third, fourth...etc house hack.
So, moving from a $725k house hack into a $600k house hack might not be viewed favorably by lenders, even if it allows me greater flexibility to at least break even with cash flow and expand.
Can anyone corroborate this? Confirm or deny, or provide any solutions?
I may be able to continue working remotely, so then it would be possible for me to move to a different area and house hack there. But, then they wouldn't be very close to each other, which is convenient for management.
The great thing about HCOL areas is that you end up with large loans, so when interest rates drop, you can truly capitalize upon refinancing. I have improved my net income on my house hack by more than $600/month since I purchased it in mid-2017, and that's even after taxes and insurance have both increased! Truly does show how powerful "time in the market" can be. Rent only goes up.
Of course, the risk is that if low interest rates do rise, who will want to pay $600k for a house(or $1M, or $2M, or whatever in places like the Bay Area) at 5.5% or 6% interest? Prices would collapse!