If I wanted to spend an hour doing it, I could probably put together a list of at least 50 cities where you can still buy housing for $100/sf or less.

When he became the first relief pitcher in MLB to sign a $100k contract and asked what he was going to do with all that money (this was 1968) he said “ 90% I’m going to spend on wild women, Irish whiskey and good times; the other 10% I’m just going to throw away”.  

Keep in mind all these markets are very different than the Cambridge area in terms of tenant base, household income, transit, etc.Happy to connect if you'd like to chat more!

Stop hanging out with your deadbeat buddies who spend all day drinking, talking sports, and otherwise wasting away.

If you know that a 2BR single family rental averages $1000/month in your market and someone tells you they have a good deal for you on one for $175k how much time are you going to spend analyzing it?

You could easily spend a lot of capital to start with something else but doing the house hack gets you started and your feet wet.

@Max Dauer just remember that even tho you may only spend a few hours a week actually working on them or dealing with guests, you are always on call.

Nope - My strategy assumes that rates rise long-term, and calls for spending less than I make.

Here are the numbers:$30k - avg monthly income3 options for rent vs buying$12.5k - avg monthly payment (20% down) on $2mil home$6.25k - avg monthly rent on $2mil home$6.25k - avg monthly payment (71.5% down) on $2mil home3 options for return on capital:7% - avg yearly return on 71.5% down payment (assuming 5% avg yearly appreciation in SD)10% - avg yearly return on from S&P 500>10% - avg yearly return on investment property (just an assumption, but I think you are all here because you beat the stock market)First, the $12.5k monthly is very intimidating and beyond what I should be spending on shelter (a no-go for me)

Once they cut the govt spending that is going to equate to negative job growth most likely for periods of time.