Welcome to House Hack Help, a site dedicated to helping you learn about house hacking successfully while building wealth in real estate.
My first real estate deal was a house hack.
It helped me eliminate the vast majority of my housing costs.
It required less up front than “traditional” real estate investing.
And I learned a lot about real estate ownership in the process.
It’s probably the single best strategy for beginner real estate investors.
But what is it?
What is House Hacking?
House hacking is when you rent out portions of your home to offset your housing costs.
It’s one of the most effective strategies for beginner investors. But it can be extremely useful for seasoned pros as well.
House hacking offers a host of powerful benefits.
When implemented effectively, house hacking allows you to:
Subsidize Your Housing Costs
Your rental income can go towards your monthly expenses. Simply put, you have a tenant paying at least part, if not all, of your housing costs.
Learn Real Estate Fundamentals
If you want to scale a real estate portfolio, house hacking is a great way to learn the ropes. You can keep a close eye on everything in the meantime.
Use the Best Financing Options
Since you are living in the property, you can often use the best financing options out there, with as low as 5%, 3.5%, or even 0% down payments!
Build Wealth in Real Estate
You get to control an asset that can provide long term rental income and appreciation.
Live For Free While Building Wealth
The ideal house hack will bring in enough income to completely offset your mortgage and other expenses.
Meanwhile, you can divert your freed up income towards other things.
What Kind of Property Can You House Hack?
Technically, you can house hack almost any property that you can live in.
That said, most house hackers live in 1 to 4 unit buildings. They live in one room (if not an entire unit) rent out the extra space.
While you could house hack a 100-unit multifamily building, you wouldn’t have access to the same low-down payment financing that’s often available to buyers of 1 to 4 unit properties.
Speaking of financing options…
What Financing Options Do House Hackers Have?
Since house hackers are owner-occupants, they have access to some of the best financing around.
Owner-occupants can use low-down payment options, like FHA, VA, and conventional mortgages. Down payments can range from 20 to even 0 percent down!
And, best of all, most of these programs offer financing at a fixed rate over 30 years. So you won’t have to worry about increasing mortgage payments.
Of course, you can house hack without using debt, but these debt options can make the strategy especially powerful.
That’s because you wouldn’t have to bring nearly as much money to the table up front as a “traditional” investor.
And your debt terms will be about as good as they can possible get.
Getting Started with House Hacking
House hacking is a pretty simple concept.
It’s as simple as buying a property and renting out your extra space.
But buying a property can get confusing and complicated.
And managing the property after you buy it can get difficult, too.
Thankfully, this website is here to serve as a helpful guide as you move through your house hacking journey.
Here’s a thorough, step-by-step guide on how to house hack:
This website, and any communication stemming from it, should not be taken as financial or legal advice for your specific situation. Consult directly with a licensed financial professional should you need investment advice and consult directly with a licensed attorney directly should you need legal advice. Assume all links are affiliate links. I am an Amazon affiliate.