This week’s case study features Joseph doing a small multi-family house hack.

The successful house hack in a triplex led him to become a house hacking coach that helps others interested in this concept work through their specific situation. Today, he shares his story from Minneapolis.

Housing hacking provides an opportunity to completely transform your finances. Through house hacking, you could be able to live for free. Imagine what you could do with those savings! You can tap into this life-changing strategy for free. Grab a FREE copy of our House Hacking Quick Start Guide to get started – it can save you thousands with specialized information you won’t find anywhere else. 

Joseph’s House Hacking Case Study

Joseph first encountered the idea of house hacking through BiggerPockets. After making that discovery, he knew that he wanted to buy a multifamily property after determining that he could use the FHA loan to put down just 3.5%.

At the time, the family was currently renting a home in Raleigh, NC for around $1,300 per month. However, when the opportunity came to move to Minneapolis for work, Joseph started looking for a multi-family property. He met a local broker at a social event and shared his intention to invest in a multi-family property. A few months later, the broker called to show him an off-market property. After taking a look, Joseph made a full price offer and sealed the deal.

The House Hack

Joseph and his family closed on the property in 2017. They immediately moved into one unit and started to rent out the others immediately. While living in the first unit, they fixed it up to fetch a higher rental rate. When one of the other tenants moved out, the family moved into that unit and also updated it while living in it.

Joseph’s triplex.

Tenants

As some original tenants moved out, Joseph has used Zillow and Craigslist to find new renters. In order to manage the property and its tenants, he uses Tenant Cloud.

Updating The Units

Over the course of several months, Joseph and his family flipped the units they were living in. As older tenants moved out, the family would move to the newly vacated unit and update it. The slow and steady pace led to a complete facelift of the property that cost between $12,000 and $15,000. Those renovations were funded by the savings due to their living situation.

The Numbers of the Deal

Let’s take a closer look at the profitability of this deal.

Financing

The triplex was bought using an FHA loan since it was under the four-unit limit. They put down 3.5% with an interest rate on the loan of 3.75%. With that arrangement, the couple ended up with a monthly mortgage payment of $2,813. That total price includes their principal, taxes, interest, and insurance.

Rental Income

With the financing offset by the rental income, Joseph was earning $100 in profit each month that he lived there.

Let’s take a closer look at the numbers:

  • Rental cost before house hacking: $1,300
  • Gross rent: $2,950
  • Mortgage payment: $2,813
  • Cashflow before maintenance and vacancies: $137
  • House savings plus maintenance: $1,437

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The Learning Curve

Along the way, Joseph learned many lessons that he now uses to help future house hackers wade through the decision making process. The process was profitable for Joseph. Although he has since moved out of the house hack, he still thinks it was a worthwhile investment.

His advice to anyone pursuing this strategy is to study, learn, model, and put in the work. Anyone can make this happen!

Get In Touch

If you’d like to find out more about Joseph’s story, then please reach out! You can connect with him on Facebook, on his personal site, or on Instagram @househackingcoach.

The Bottom Line

Joseph’s story proves that it is possible to house hack as a family without bringing roommates into the picture. Although he definitely conveyed that house hacking requires hard work, it is possible for anyone.

Be sure to check out next week’s case study featuring Jordan.

If you are interested in creating your own story then check out our other house hacking case studies, read the ultimate guide to house hacking or listen to our podcast to be inspired. You might just find a way to save yourself thousands of dollars in housing costs while building your real estate portfolio.

After you’ve completed your house hack successfully, please share your story here. We would love to celebrate your success!