Owner-occupants get the best terms: FHA from 3.5% down, VA from 0% for veterans, conventional from 5%. You live there, so you qualify.
02
Live in one part
One unit of a duplex, the main floor above a basement apartment, the house beside the ADU. Your home first — investment second.
03
Rent out the rest
A tenant's rent lands every month and pays down most of your housing bill — while you build equity in the whole property.
The calculator
See your real monthly cost — not the sticker price.
Pick your market and loan program, tune ten honest inputs, and watch the number that actually matters: what's left of your housing bill after rent. Every line item shown. Nothing hidden in the fine print.
Sample: $425k duplex, FHA 3.5% down, 6.25%. Estimates for education — not financial advice.
Estimates, not promises
Every number is itemized and every assumption is visible. We'd rather you walk away informed than sign up misled.
Every major loan program
Conventional, FHA 3.5% down, and VA 0% down — with mortgage insurance and funding fees modeled the way lenders actually charge them.
No listings. No lead-selling.
We're a calculator and a library, not a brokerage. Your numbers stay yours unless you ask us to send them somewhere.
Real house hackers
People who did the math, then did the deal.
The calculator was the first thing that didn't oversell it. It showed me I'd still pay about six hundred a month — and that's the number that made me trust the rest.
Pays $610/mo · was $1,700 renting
MR
Maya R.
Duplex · Columbus, OH
VA loan, zero down, a triplex. Two tenants cover the whole mortgage and then some. The paperwork was the hardest part.
Lives free · +$240/mo
DT
Darius T.
Triplex · San Antonio, TX
We finished the basement into a legal unit. The rehab tool kept us honest on the contingency — which we absolutely used when the sewer line surprised us.
Basement ADU · $1,150/mo rent
JK
Jenna & Kwame
SFH + basement · Kansas City, MO
I almost bought on the sticker price alone. Seeing taxes and insurance broken out separately talked me out of a deal that would've bled me dry.
Walked away · found a better one
PL
Priya L.
Duplex hunt · Providence, RI
Every property I've bought, the projection tool has helped me pressure-test. I don't move until the ten-year curve still looks fine with the sliders turned pessimistic.
Explore 15 high-signal house-hacking markets — median 2–4 unit prices, rents, mortgage coverage, and a plain-English market pulse, refreshed quarterly from public data. Pick one and load its defaults straight into the calculator.
Yes — that's the whole trick. Owner-occupant loans require you to move in (usually within 60 days) and live there for at least a year. That occupancy is exactly what unlocks the low down payments; an investor buying the same building would need 20–25% down.
Can the expected rent help me qualify?
Often, yes. On two- to four-unit properties, lenders will typically count a share of documented market or lease rent — commonly around 75% — toward your qualifying income. The exact treatment varies by loan program and lender, so confirm it with yours.
How little can I put down?
On a home you'll occupy: 0% with a VA loan if you're an eligible veteran, 3.5% with FHA, and from 5% conventional — on up to four units. The calculator models each program with the mortgage insurance and funding fees lenders actually charge.
What vacancy and maintenance should I assume?
We default to a 5% vacancy allowance (about eighteen days a year) and an 8% maintenance reserve. Older buildings deserve more. Both are switched on by default, because leaving them out is exactly how an optimistic spreadsheet lies to you.
What kinds of properties count?
Duplexes, triplexes, and fourplexes — or a single-family home with a legal basement apartment or ADU. Anything from one to four units still counts as a home for financing, which is what keeps the low-down-payment loans in play.
Is any of this financial advice?
No. HouseHackers is an educational resource, not a lender, brokerage, or advisor. Every figure here is an estimate built on stated assumptions — confirm the numbers with a licensed professional before you make a decision.
Do you sell my information?
Never. We don't sell leads and we don't run a listings marketplace. Your numbers stay yours — we only email you a report if you ask us to, and we don't share your address.
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