House Hacking.

It’s life hacking for your house. And it can be a major money saver.

Essentially, house hacking is done by renting out portions of your house so that other people are paying your mortgage while you live in the house.

You could offset your mortgage and live cheap, or you could even generate income and live for free in your own home.

In high-cost markets, it’s a great way to lower your living expenses so you can save money for other things like travel, experiences, or even your next investment property.

It comes at a cost, however.

You may be sharing your home with other people, so it’s wise to choose your housemates carefully. A lifestyle change will be necessary, and you will want to determine if the savings outweigh the costs or inconveniences of living with other people.

Here are some benefits of house hacking:

• Offset your mortgage so your housing costs are low to zero

• Make passive income on your primary residence (aka live for FREE)

• Reduce your utility costs because they’re shared with others

• Purchase the home with a lower down payment since it’s a primary residence

• Potential tax write offs for mortgage interest deduction

• Learn to be a landlord and get experience as a real estate investor

Expert house hackers buy 2-4 unit properties, live in one unit and rent out the others. This is quite possibly the best way to house hack because you offset your mortgage and utility costs while still having your own space.

Another way to house hack is to add another unit to your primary residence with an ADU, or accessory dwelling unit. This gives you a space of your own while you rent out a portion of the home to others.

This is exactly what I’ve done with one of my properties in Portland. The house was way too big for us, so we added a basement apartment. We rent out the top unit (main house) and we have the 800 square foot, 2 bedroom basement apartment ready and waiting for anytime we want to go visit friends and family in Portland.

The main house rent more than covers our mortgage, utilities, taxes, and insurance… AND the tenants take care of the yard better than we ever have! It works out perfectly for us and it’s great to have a place to call our own when we head to the Rose City.

Want to learn more about house hacking?

Call me and I’ll share some tips and strategies on what to look for in a new purchase, or how to transform your exsiting space so you can create more freedom in your life.