They use the cash as part of their retirement lifestyle.

Monthly cash flow pays for your lifestyle (and your bills) not equity.The cash flow however is very low on these unless there is a way to increase rents  significantly or reduce expenses.

Not sure if that'd fit with your lifestyle but you'd probably be able to pull out equity later on to buy the next home.

If rents drop 10%, you incur higher property taxes, need to replace appliances, insurances go up etc. do you have the income to support covering that.Personally I love being at least neutral cash flow each month so I don't need to worry as much about paying out of pocket to keep the investments afloat and less risk to my own finances and lifestyle

The zero down payment makes it hard because the monthly payments are quite high, but hey free equity.My one true love is traveling and a couple of years ago, after working for a while and saving a decent amount of cash, I quit my job and was living the nomad lifestyle just wandering around the world - spent a lot of time in eastern Europe, India, and Australia.

@Jared Ebert it's tough to answer where you should start without knowing what your income and lifestyle goals are. 

I already live the life of a college student on a budget and it would be the goal to keep that lifestyle going in to house hacking to save as much as possible and build on it.

Are their monthly payments too high for their income when you add the rent to it.Google their name and look for their social media too - this will tell you the type of lifestyle they live.Good luck! 

We have changed our lifestyle by following some simple rules and running our own businesses.

But I was hesitant because I am nervous about lifestyle creep and an expensive liability if I bought a large house.