House Hacking: How I Used Real Estate to Build Wealth (And How You Can Too)
Let’s be real owning real estate sounds like a dream, but most people think you need hundreds of thousands in the bank to even get started. I’m here to tell you that’s just not true. I built my real estate portfolio by using one simple concept: house hacking.
It’s not flashy. It’s not risky. But it works.
What Is House Hacking?
House hacking is when you live in a property and rent out part of it to cover your mortgage. Thanks to something called the Primary Residence Rule, you can buy a property with up to four units like a duplex, triplex, or quadplex and still qualify for a regular primary residence mortgage. The only catch? You need to live in one of the units.
Let me show you how this plays out.
Say you buy a $1 million four-unit building with $200,000 down. Your monthly mortgage is $5,000. You live in one unit and rent out the other three. If each brings in $1,500, you’re collecting $4,500. That means you’re only paying $500 out of pocket to live there. Where else can you get a deal like that?
Rent Increases Turn It Into Profit
Once you’ve got stable tenants and the neighborhood improves, you can raise rents. If you push each unit from $1,500 to $2,000, you’re now pulling in $6,000 a month. Your mortgage is still $5,000. That’s a $1,000 monthly profit while still living there.
How to Multiply the Strategy
Here’s where it gets interesting.
FHA loans and other primary mortgages require you to live in the property for at least one year. After that? You’re free to move. That means you can buy another four-unit building, move in, and rent out the old one completely. Now you’ve got 7 units making money and you’ve only lived in two places.
Rinse and repeat this strategy for 5–10 years, and you’re building a real estate empire without needing a million-dollar salary.
Financing Your Way In
One of the best parts? You don’t need 20% down. Depending on the loan type, you might only need:
- 5%
- 3.5%
- 3%
- Even 0% in some cases (VA loans, for example)
As the property gains value, you can also use a cash-out refinance to pull equity out tax-free. Let’s say your $1 million property appreciates to $1.5 million. You refinance and pull out $1.1 million. That’s real money you can use to buy another building and you don’t pay taxes on it because it’s a loan, not income.
The Real Power of Real Estate
House hacking is more than just saving on rent. It’s a wealth-building machine. You’re stacking:
- Rental income
- Property appreciation
- Tax advantages
- Equity from mortgage pay-downs
And once you build up enough, you can:
- Refinance to fund bigger deals
- Sell for capital
- Scale into apartment buildings or commercial real estate
But here’s the truth: It takes patience. It takes learning. It takes doing your homework. Real estate isn’t a “get rich quick” game it’s a “get wealthy over time” game.
Start Small. Learn Fast. Grow Steady.
You don’t need to jump into a fourplex on day one. Start with a single-family home and rent a room. Learn how leases work. Learn how maintenance works. Then level up.
And if you’re serious about building wealth through real estate, make sure you’re subscribed to Market Briefs. It’s my free daily newsletter that breaks down real estate, stocks, crypto, and global markets in plain English. You’ll also get access to my free master class where I teach these exact wealth-building strategies.
Because knowledge without action is just entertainment.
Jaspreet Singh is not a licensed financial advisor. He is a licensed attorney, but he is not providing you with legal advice in this article. This article, the topics discussed, and ideas presented are Jaspreet’s opinions and presented for entertainment purposes only. The information presented should not be construed as financial or legal advice. Always do your own due diligence
