House hacking and multi-family properties are great ways to start in real estate!

Instead of moving into another single-family home, consider house hacking a duplex or triplex, this allows you to use low down payment loans (FHA, conventional) and offset your mortgage with rental income, accelerating your path to financial freedom.

So... the definition of a house hack, I guess.

@Tom Grieshammerthe best bang for your buck, if your lifestyle permits it, is to house hack. 

I landscaped a 40 foot x 7 foot walkway on the side of my house(where I house hack) in 2024.  

**For context I house hacked for about a year after she passed away but couldn't live in that house anymore and sold it.

From my experience working with over 400 investors, I’d recommend starting with house hacking—ideally a fourplex if you find a good deal, but a duplex works too.

You can make house hacking work anywhere, really.

I would be willing to share mine as well including the sheet I built to calculate where your offer needs to be on a house hack for it to make sense.

I have saved up some money but my goal is to save up at least 20k in a year before I start looking for options on house hacking in a duplex.