Podcast Summary: BiggerPockets Real Estate Podcast

Episode: The New (Better) House Hack: No Roommates, More Rent

Date: October 3, 2025

Host: Dave Meyer
Guest: Henry Washington

Overview

This episode dives deep into reinventing house hacking for the 2025 real estate market. Dave Meyer and Henry Washington discuss how the classic strategy of using your primary home to build wealth still works—even when interest rates and home prices are high—if investors adapt to new realities. They explain new lending options, creative house hack variations, risk management tips, and address common objections, making the case that house hacking remains one of the lowest-risk and most powerful ways to accelerate financial independence.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Is Traditional House Hacking Dead?

• Host (Dave Meyer) opens by acknowledging that while rising home prices and higher interest rates have made classic house hacking (buying a small multifamily, living in one unit, renting the others) less immediately profitable, it’s far from obsolete.
• Key Theme: House hacking needs an update—not a funeral.

“The old way, it needs a refresh. And this is the new, better way to house hack in 2025. It still makes you wealthy, it still works with low money down. But only if you make these updates for the 2025 housing market.” (A, 00:24)

2. House Hacking, Defined and Defended

• Simple Definition: Monetizing your primary residence—multifamily or single family, renting units or rooms, cash flowing, or just reducing living costs.
• Benefits Highlighted:
  • Reduces or eliminates your largest expense: housing.
  • Forces personal savings by lowering out-of-pocket housing costs.
  • Works as "training wheels" for aspiring landlords.
  • Offers stable, long-term fixed-rate debt (e.g., 30-year mortgage).
  • Highly scalable: Repeat annually to grow a portfolio.

“I really just define it as you monetizing your primary residence…there’s a lot of ways to generate income from your primary residence, no matter what kind it is.” (B, 01:46)

Personal Stories:

• Henry shares about his own house hack—living in a house with an ADU, renting out the ADU, saving $1,000/month, and rolling those savings into future investments.
• Dave discusses his “training wheels” house hack and the foundational impact on his investing journey.

3. Why House Hacking Still Works in 2025

Rents Up—So Are Opportunities

• Rents have increased alongside home prices, so the relative benefit of offsetting high rent with a fixed mortgage remains strong.

Lending Products Have Evolved

• 5% Down Payments: Thanks to recent Fannie Mae changes, investors can now purchase 2-4 unit properties with as little as 5% down (was 20%+).
• Renovation Loans: FHA 203k, Fannie Mae Homestyle, Freddie Mac ChoiceRenovation, and VA renovation loans let house hackers borrow to both buy and rehabilitate properties.
  • Lenders now often include future rental income in borrower qualification, enabling bigger purchases.

“It’s pretty industry standard now, 5% down…Also, lenders know how to underwrite these better…they’ll actually consider the rents for the property you’re looking to buy as income.” (B, 15:56)

Market Conditions

• Inventory is up, buyer demand seasonally down (holidays), opportunities to negotiate below asking price and find value-add properties are increasing.
• Contractors are more available than in the recent past.

Lower Risk Than Most Investments

• House hacking directly reduces your living expenses, thus lowering overall financial risk.
• Even if properties don’t immediately cash flow, investors can often cover the gap through saved rent.

“It’s probably the lowest-risk real estate investing strategy out there.” (A, 11:28)

4. Updated Buy Box & Risk Management (21:14)

• New Criteria:
  • Don’t expect to live for free—focus on big expense reduction, not elimination.
  • Factor in rent growth: Predict when a property will break even (e.g., minor negative cash flow for 1-2 years before rents catch up).
  • “Can I afford to carry the property if I have to move out quickly and it doesn’t fully cash flow?” (A, 21:39)
  • Protect downside risk: Only buy what you could afford to hold through a tough period.

5. Variations and Creative House Hacking

Standard Play

• Duplex/triplex/quadplex—live in one, rent the rest.

Beyond Multifamily (26:17)

• Rent by the Room: Buy a single family and rent out spare bedrooms. Degrees of discomfort range from roommates to “Craig Kerlop-style” (living behind a curtain).
• Short-Term Rentals: Airbnb a room or unit to avoid long-term roommates.
• Amenity Rentals: Use apps to monetize pools (Swimply), backyard space (Sniff Spot), garages (Neighbor), or home offices (PeerSpace).
• Live-in Flips: Buy a fixer-upper, use a renovation loan, live in it for 2+ years, capture tax-free gain on sale, then repeat.

“You can still monetize…It’s going to require some level of uncomfortability. Wealth is not built in your comfort zone.” (B, 26:52)

“If you live there for two years, then when you sell that property, you don’t have to pay the capital gains taxes and you can literally pocket that money…” (B, 29:46)

6. Scalable & Repeatable

• Buy one house hack per year—use a mix of FHA, conventional, and other loans.
• In 3 years, accumulate 6–12 units with very little money down, repeat for stable long-term wealth.
• Each property holds value both for living cost offset and eventual retirement supplement.

“If you are, especially if you’re young and single, why wouldn’t you buy a duplex a year, live in one unit, rent out the other…Let’s just say you did that three times…that could be your retirement, right?” (B, 09:39, 10:23)

7. Discomfort and Mindset: The Reality Check

• Acknowledge potential discomfort—roommates, shared walls, temporary living situations (“friend’s grandma’s basement”).
• Wealth-building requires getting outside your comfort zone—find your own “line” for discomfort vs. profit.
• The hosts push back on overblown fears about sharing walls or renting rooms. Many people do this by default in apartments or with roommates.

“If you think you’re going to achieve wealth or financial freedom without getting uncomfortable, I’ve got bad news for you. You’re probably not going to get there.” (B, 32:30)

“On the spectrum of discomfort to opportunity, house hacking is like truly the best…” (A, 34:16)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “It’s not the fact that you offset your mortgage, it’s what you do with the savings that helps you be successful.” — Henry (B, 05:03)
• “You don’t need to cash flow on a house hack to make it work.” — Dave (A, 05:50)
• “Rent growth is going to improve year over year, maybe in two or three years that [$300 deficit] is absorbed by rent growth…now you’re cash flowing.” — Henry (B, 22:42)
• “The more uncomfortable you’re willing to get, the more profitable you’re going to be.” — Henry (B, 26:52)
• “It’s a gift. The fact that you can do this…putting 3.5% down with fixed rate debt is one of the best investments in the world.” — Dave (A, 34:58)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:24 – The case for a new, updated house hack for 2025
• 02:52 – Why people think house hacking is “dead" or “harder”
• 04:59–08:00 – Personal stories and the real benefits of house hacking
• 09:39–11:17 – The “one-a-year” house hack strategy for fast scaling
• 15:06–18:16 – Lending changes, new low-down payment and renovation loan options
• 18:42–21:32 – Market timing and crafting your buy box in 2025
• 26:17–30:15 – Creative ways to house hack (room rentals, amenity apps, live-in flips)
• 32:07–34:58 – Rant: The necessity—and limits—of discomfort for financial growth
• 34:58 – Final encouragement: House hacking is still a “gift” in today’s market

Tone and Style

The conversation is enthusiastic, candid, and encouraging, frequently blending practical tips with personal stories. Dave and Henry openly acknowledge challenges and trade-offs but consistently reframe them as reasonable and surmountable, stressing the massive upside for those willing to adapt.

Takeaways

• House hacking isn’t dead; it just looks different in 2025—a flexible, creative approach is key.
• It remains a powerful, low-risk wealth building strategy, especially with updated loan products.
• Comfort zone is the enemy of wealth—embracing mild discomfort compounds into massive financial rewards.
• Whether you’re single, partnered, young or older, there’s a way to house hack that can move you forward.

Go out and try the new, better house hack—no roommates required (but more rent is possible)!