All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

I would think about the area around it.  I househacked in Rockville a while back for years and have managed a similar situation in Silver Spring.  Both went very well.  One thing I would focus on with that is walkability to the metro.  Even so I think having a college walking distance or metro or train station is atleast as good in that regard.  If it can be a half mile or less ot really helps.  To attract decent people I would look at neighborhoods that are safe.  Also on-site washer/dryer is a necessity.  If you can combine this with a functional place and cosmetic reno you can attract decent people.  I think Baltimore city in parts near colleges and College Park would also work.  For Baltimore City if you are near JHU, Towson, or Morgan you should be in good shape.  College Park has University of Maryland which is huge.  Something to note is the legality of how many unrelated people can legally live there.  In Baltimore County that # is 2 so in Towson that could void a 3 bedroom or more from that.  In PG County its 5 so in College Park you could have a 5 bedroom charge.  In Baltimore City is 4. I have managed househacks near University of Maryland and Baltimore City and continue to.    Both have been very successful with little drama or vacancy issues due to good screening.  I want to be clear especially in Baltimore City it only really will work in certain parts. It is not a place to househack some C or D grade asset bc its cheap to purchase and wonder why things go bad shortly thereafter.  If you need help let me know.

Quote from @Joseph Ayoub:

Hey Yuta - to echo some of what others have said, Silver Spring is a great area. Lots of young professionals or recent graduates where people would be willing to live in a group house or rent by the room situation. Proximity to DC makes for a strong tenant base. A lot of houses also have basements that could be converted to ADUs. I’m personally working on a house hack to do this, so would be happy to talk about my experience. 

Another area to consider is Hyattsville or Riverdale. A little less expensive than Silver Spring, but also have graduate students or people needing rooms since it’s close to University of Maryland. Proximity to DC is good and there’s a fair amount of development in the works too. 

Hey @Account Closed I say Ditto to  @Joseph Ayoub on Montgomery county! (rockville, sillver spring) -- you would be able do build or convert a space into an ADU and basically get duplex rents without the duplex price tag. Just make sure youre working within the permitting laws, but Montgomery county is more flexible than most of the rest of MD. A lot of first time investors/househackers are considering this strategy as there is very little supply of MF's in these high cost of living areas but plenty of renters

Hey Yuta - to echo some of what others have said, Silver Spring is a great area. Lots of young professionals or recent graduates where people would be willing to live in a group house or rent by the room situation. Proximity to DC makes for a strong tenant base. A lot of houses also have basements that could be converted to ADUs. I’m personally working on a house hack to do this, so would be happy to talk about my experience. 

Another area to consider is Hyattsville or Riverdale. A little less expensive than Silver Spring, but also have graduate students or people needing rooms since it’s close to University of Maryland. Proximity to DC is good and there’s a fair amount of development in the works too. 

Quote from @Account Closed:

We are looking for the house for sale to start house hacking in Maryland. The affordable price range is 500-800k and never mind the area as long as located in Maryland. I was looking for a duplex but could find few in this area. I think split foyer is the best style to keep each privacy (There looks not so many supply in the market in Maryland though).

For me, there looks some areas I should consider and they have pros and cons.
My big question is “ Which place do many people want to rent even if owner is living together?”

My impression for each town is as follows:

Columbia, Ellicott City - Great to live and Great school district, but looks like the area for family (not ideal for house hacking?)

Rockville, Gaithersburg - Great area to live and more affordable than Bethesda area, but a little expensive than other areas and most homes are older

Frederick - Most affordable but a little far from DC and Baltimore

Towson - Great for house hacking but less supply

Silver Spring, Kensington - Great access to DC but less home ideal for house hacking

If you have other opinions about my opinions, it would be appreciated if you could tell me.
Looking forward to hearing from your advice!

You will have no issue finding tenants in any of those places, its really more of a decision of where you want to live and your budget, I would make sure even if you ended up subsidizing your rental with roommates that its still a monthly payment you are at least somewhat comfortable with. But honestly we are lucky to live in area with so many great options and it’s really about finding the combo of price and where you want to live. The rents as a percentage of purchase price tend to be fairly close across the metro area.

Rockville, Gaithersburg and Silver Spring.

First off in Montgomery County you can make a legal ADU. So that's a huge plus in the pro column. Additionally in each of those 3 locations, rents are going to be high and growing. I live right on the Rockville/Gaithersburg line...like literally, the next street is a different city. But most of my rentals are in Silver Spring along the Georgia Ave corridor.

Frederick offers a cheaper entry point, but with stagnant rent growth. Some of my properties there rent for the same as they did a decade ago.

Howard County is generally good, but has higher taxes and lower rent growth than Montgomery County.

For a house hack, disregarding distance to anything in particular (since you didn't mention a job or school location that you need to be close to), absolutely Frederick is your best choice. I spend a lot of time up there and I know the neighborhoods very well, and there's a lot of areas with very solid rental potential.  

Downtown Frederick is filled with charming independent restaurants and retailers (there's actually a ban on chains in the downtown core), has seen some of the highest appreciation in the state over the past fifteen years, and is the fastest growing county in the state by population. And you can absolutely get a multi-unit in Frederick at your price point. 

If there's somewhere in particular you need to be close to for a commute, though, all of the options you listed have some solid pros and cons, and there's a couple places that might be a good match that aren't on your list. I'd be happy to chat with you about some of the options if you'd like!