That fit is too much work for a regular house hacker who does not have a reno loan and it can't be lived in as-is and not enough meat on the bone for a flip for a full-time investor or contractor.

I'd go so far as to say this may cause a drop in asset prices, particularly of larger assets which can't be occupied by house hackers. 

I am a big fan of purchasing larger multifamily buildings as a house hacker and wish i had the knowledge i do now and would have gone for something much more expensive.

If you do come across a unicorn multi that isn't a complete gut most house hackers run into the issue with the standard of living for their investment property and their own house are drastically different.I would suggest looking out in Delaware county for a multi, much higher inventory 3+ units, and a larger percentage of cleaner multis as well. 

I have found most of these takes elitist and dismissive, but I recently read an article, The Rise of The California Back House House Hacker claiming that our community at BiggerPockets and the subsequent reddit forums are having a similar impact on the real estate market. 

Hi @Nick Philippakos  house hacking in NJ with 50k can be tough, does not leave your friend with mush cushion and likely forces him to go turnkey which the majority of the time leads to House Hacker getting stuck in the property for many years since they have not acquired significant equity.  

@Charlie Massey I am agent in New Jersey the primarily works with house hackers. 

I am a 4x house hacker/Airbnb operator and investor friendly realtor in Denver.

So in my mind being a house hacker is a very powerful move in this market. 

As long as you don't expect to get something way below market value.Just my two cents as a very active Realtor in Northern NJ that works with a lot of first-time buyers/house-hackers.