With this option, we're wondering if it's better to offer it as a 3 bed 1.5 bath with 2 bonus rooms (which we live out of), or rework one of the rooms into an actual bedroom to make it a 4 bed.With either option, we're also wondering if it's best to have the cashflow of our current house to offset any unexpected expenses, or if we should pay extra and try to pay off our current house as soon as possible.

Hi dear colleagues, my son is moving to Richmond and he bought a condo and he is planning to rent a room to start his house hacking strategy as a new investor in real estate.

HI Dean,You can always start off by house hacking meaning you live in one UNIT or ROOM and renting out the other vacant units/rooms to offset your monthly mortgage payment.There are several ways to run and make sure you are maximizing your rental income while keeping your living expense as low as possible.

I have done mid term rentals for years, and mostly by the room (similar to you renting out different parts of your house).

Well tenant complain of a smell in their room.

So, in sum, house hacking can be when you are able leverage low down payments in order to control an asset (use an FHA loan and rent out the other rooms/units, use the VA loan with no down payment to ultimately turn the property into a rental property, etc.). 

The downstairs has 2 bed, 1 bath, and a bonus room.

I started renting rooms to strangers, and things got more interesting and more challenging quickly.

House Hacking Strategies: Examine various house hacking techniques, such as renting out individual rooms or residing in one flat and renting out the others.

Updating all the mechanicals, refinishing the wood flooring, adding a 1/2 bath, flipping the kitchen from the existing kitchen into the dining room to make it more usable, updating the full bath, and adding a garage as well as painting throughout.