Month: December 2019

What is House Hacking?

When I first read about house hacking, I was very surprised. I thought this was a new thing, but I discovered that I’m actually already doing it for years.

House Hacking is a great new name for a concept that has been around for a long time. Although it isn’t new, the popularity has increased dramatically. While owning real estate has becomes less affordable – especially in city centres, inventive home buyers are finding new ways to own a great property.

Basically, House Hacking is a tactic that includes renting out portions of your property to generate income. This income is used to pay your mortgage and other expenses linked with owning your real estate. If done properly, it lets you live in a great location completely for free, or even generate some profit.

Of course, although it gives you some financial relief it doesn’t come work free. You must be willing to become a landlord and take on all duties that come with it.

Ok, so how can I House Hack?

The entire idea of an effective House Hack is to find real estate with as many rentable spaces as possible to generate income. These can be a multi-family building with several apartments, extra bedrooms in a single-family house, additional space that can be converted into liveable space or even a garage.

That’s basically what I did. I bought a multi-family house with a garage. The property had 4 apartments. I moved into one apartment and rented the other three units and the garage. Like this I was able to live for free and the rents that I received paid all expenses of the property.

Best is to make some calculations before you go house hunting to see what you actually need. First question you need to tackle: How many units do I need to rent to pay the mortgage and other expenses of the property?

Also keep in mind that the location is very important. A great location will give you a better rent and you will find tenants quicker.

If you don’t like to consider a Multi-family property, what about a single-family house with a granny flat? Have a look around in the real estate market and see what could work for you.

Conclusion

If you like to be an inventive real estate investor but doesn’t want to pay the mortgage out of your own pocket, House Hacking could definitely work for you. Your real estate isn’t just your residence, but it’s also providing you with an income.

Start looking for your House Hack property.



The cheapest real estate in the world


How to find the best real estate deals that are out there

A house that costs less than a used car, is it possible? Yes, it is. There are great real estate deals available if you are flexible regarding the location or condition.

The best place to start would be to have a look at www.propertyunder20k.com an established website that list only real estate that costs less than 20,000 EUR. You get an overview very quickly when you look at the world map on their homepage. You can see straight away where are the best deals available. Or maybe you like to look at the cheapest house near you – simply zoom into your location.

Granted, for that price it is very likely that you will need to invest a bit more money to make the property a comfortable home for you. The price usually reflects its condition. Or if it is in good condition it might be very small or be in a location where real estate in general is cheaper.

But no worries, you can work your way up.

You don’t necessarily need to go for the absolute cheapest house that is out there. Go for one that you can afford including the renovation costs – otherwise you might be stuck with a problem. Make your homework before. See if you like the location, the neighbourhood and if you can handle the renovation. This means, you might need to climb up the price ladder a little bit until you find the best real estate deal for you.

This website was designed especially for that – to show the cheapest real estate in the world. Over the years we have seen many who took the plunge and bought a house abroad as they just couldn’t resist to let a great bargain go to someone else. Some deals seem to good to be true. But make no mistake. Sit down first and write down the pros and cons before making a hasty decision. Especially when buying a house abroad it can be difficult to look after it or find someone to manage it for you.

How to find real estate deals that suit you?

Get a good overview first of what is out there. Maybe you could afford more than 20,000 EUR. There are websites with higher price ranges such as www.propertyunder50k.com. You can use the advanced search to narrow down the real estate listings until you find exactly what you are looking for.

Conclusion

There are thousands of great real estate deals out there. Usually they don’t come problem free but if you feel able to deal with them it is the best way to get one of the cheapest real estate in the world.