It all started with a goal of financial freedom and ended with two MEGA house hacks.
Spoiler alert. House Hacking + Short Term Rental= Recipe for Success!
Meet the engineers and implementers of this vision- Grant and Tiffany.
House Hack #1
Rewind to 2019, when Grant and Tiffany stumbled across BiggerPockets and began casting their vision for financial freedom through real estate. As they transitioned from vision to action steps, the first roadblock was how to afford a mortgage in the Bay Area?
Luckily, as they continued diving into BiggerPockets, they heard David discuss house hacking AND realized that the David Greene Team could help them buy in their area.
Since Grant and Tiffany were in a high cost of living area, the David Greene Team knew Grant and Tiffany would need multiple strategies for success.
- Find a more affordable home for the area. Manufactured home
- Find a home that could be converted for house hacking. Home had a partially converted garage.
- Pick a specific house hacking strategy. Long term rental in the garage conversion.
Grant and Tiffany bought their home, rolled up their sleeves, and finished the garage conversion.
They implemented their house hacking strategy by renting to a long term tenant. They realized that having a long term tenant didn’t align with their vision any longer (issues with the tenant taking care of the space, lower rent than a short term rental, plus Grant and Tiffany had a growing family to care for).
Instead of staying stuck, Grant and Tiffany made the bold choice to PIVOT!
The garage conversion was now used as a short term rental. Grant and Tiffany were able to to change the things that were not working for them with a long term rental. Now they could clean and inspect the space frequently, charge a higher rent, AND decide when to rent the space and when they needed time blocked off for their family to utilize the space.
Fast forward to 2021, Grant and Tiffany had their eye on the booming market plus they were ready to relocate to a new area.
Again Grant and Tiffany were ready to PIVOT!
Moving On From House #1
A few bumps in the road with selling their home couldn’t stop their plan (appraisers ghosting, overdue appraisals, and paperwork red tape).
They successfully sold their home in the Bay Area with the help of the David Greene Team again (pssst click here to connect with the David Greene Team if you’re looking to buy, sell, or invest). Grant and Tiffany moved into an apartment in their new location while the house hunting began. Grant and Tiffany found their new home and were in contract when the seller changed their mind about selling.
Again Grant and Tiffany didn’t give up but instead were ready to PIVOT!
House Hack #2
House hunting began again and were able to quickly find and close on their home. Grant and Tiffany were able to imagine how to create another MEGA house hack and pulled in their contractor to make it happen.
- Convert garage into a private bedroom with a separate entrance for a short term rental unit
- Convert the primary bedroom into a private bedroom with a separate entrance for a short term rental unit
- Live in the rest of the home
As soon as renovations are complete, Grant and Tiffany will have TWO short term rental units. They’re planning to use the rental income to cover their living expenses.
In the future, Grant and Tiffany will be able to move out of this home and rent the main part of the house too while they move on to their next house hack!
Biggest Takeaway
When we asked Grant and Tiffany their biggest take away throughout their experience, they explained you don’t have to stick to the same strategy as you originally planned. Their plans changed several times but each time they quickly learned to PIVOT.
Don’t be afraid to change your plans by leaning into the power of pivoting!
If you’re looking to do something similar reach out to the David Greene Team.
