House hacking can significantly lower your housing expenses, but full elimination isn’t guaranteed.### 2.

Originally this started as a house hack I have recently moved out and it is now a 2 unit with one half being furnished rental.

I have never heard of someone house hacking with an STR, that is super creative...

So if the house is worth $500k once finished, then I'd go for it.....But first, talk to a Realtor and a GC.

We got our start with a 3-unit house hack in Downtown Saint Augustine just off King Street.

Granted this primarily filters out the small deals or the highly leveraged deals, neither of which I do, but making 20% on a ARV 150k house is $30k. 

When we moved, we turned it into a rental, hoping this would be the start of our real estate journey—something we’d like to continue once my husband retires.Some key details:My husband is active duty and will retire in 3 years.We have one final move coming up this summer to Raleigh, NC.Our current debts are crippling us—the high interest makes it tough to stay afloat every month.The plan me and my husband are thinking bout:Sell the rental property.Use the proceeds to pay off all our debts, set aside emergency funds and a down payment for our next home.Free up $1,500/month from debt payments, and that also can stash in a high-yield savings account.Regain full VA loan entitlement, allowing us to purchase a multifamily home and use the house hacking strategy for up coming move.Avoid capital gains tax, since April marks five years of ownership, and the tenant’s lease ends in May.This wasn’t our original plan, and we hate the idea of using our equity to pay off debt.

Are you going to live there also, or do you want to operate a shared housing model in a single-family home with tenants?

Do your due diligence.furthermore, are there any burnout houses close by, is it in a safe neighborhood, is this in a rural area, is it a metropolitan area, what's the economy like there, just because other places nearby are renting doesn't mean that your house one block over is not next to something that is uninhabitable, or poses a security risk, or maybe near an abandoned field, a graveyard, an airport, many different factors there to consider.  

You're in a strong rental market, and house hacking a small multifamily in Phoenix is a smart way to build wealth.