The House Hacking Strategy: A Guide to Achieving Financial Freedom Through Home Ownership

Jalen: Craig writes a very practical, easy, and actionable book on a method that anyone can do no matter your age. He takes into detail every step of his journey and reveals how to not face the same things he did.

I was able to get into my first househack with this book and it is a constant read for anyone considering house hacking.

House hacking in my opinion is the most easiest way to get into real estate investing. Low cost of down payment entry and you can continuously scale up every year. House hacking by far beats being a renter for sure even in times of high inflation and high interest rates.

United States on Aug 31, 2022

NICK: Interesting perspective and ideas with those who have ambition to get ahead. Good information, organized, easy to read, even fun!

Canada on Jan 19, 2022

Santiago Fociños Mantecón: This book will change the way you think about real estate investing! Definitely recommended.

Spain on Nov 21, 2021

Olive rLorenz: Really good stuff!

Germany on Aug 29, 2021

Mr. J: A friend sent me the interview of Craig talking House Hacking on the Bigger Pockets podcast and I bought his book immediately. I hadn't even finished the book before my wife and I decided to try this for ourselves and went after a property that we could 'hack'. Our offer was accepted since we didn't haggle for a few dollars off the mortgage each month, using Craig's advice, and then I quickly read the chapter on interviewing lender's and found one that worked with us. (We have tons of student loan debt) Our financing was approved and we are set to move into a back garage unit and rent/airbnb the main house. We are so excited to finally have a plan for financial freedom for not only us but a future we have always wanted with our two young children!

Thus, I can't recommend Craig's book enough. The only thing it doesn't fully dive into is the dealing with all the friends and family who will look at you side-eye and at a loss for words! Haha. That is, until you send them to Craig's interviews and book to read for themselves. I just take it as more fuel for the fire to prove financial freedom is available to anyone who is willing to live 'outside the typical American box' for a...

United States on Aug 04, 2020

ryan runchey: I wish I had read Craig's book earlier! Craig shows how to buy a home and manage tenants using low money down.

While there is additional work to home-ownership vs. renting including managing tenants, there is also reduced financial burden knowing that housemates can help you pay the mortgage. Repeating this process a few times can set you up for financial success. Craig shows how to do this; this is not a gimmick.

I've seen a few friends "house hack" over the past 10 years as well as lived as a "boarder" (i.e. rented-a-room) in other's homes before knowing the term "House Hack"... it took a lot of evidence, experience, and courage to purchase my first property and rent rooms to housemates; however, the experience so far has been excellent (including its share of frustrations)! My eyes are opened and am already eagerly planning my 2nd house hack - this time, following Craig's recommendations from the get-go.

To get a quick understanding of "House Hacking", I suggest everyone to quickly review his Instagram profile (public figure, business-related only posts) to quickly see many summary examples: instagram thefiguy.

Then go on to listen to podcasts and...

United States on May 01, 2020

A. Wang: Pro’s: Real life examples, albeit very simple calculations that don’t take into effect cost of living increases, tax burden, or closing costs. Very uplifting & cheerleader voice. Craig sounds like a hardworking, earnest & kind person who wrote this book to help others achieve financial freedom. You go, Craig!

Con’s: I live/work in LA & Craig has stipulated that house hacking is VERY tough in LA, SF & NY. As an active first time home buyer who is a SoCal native, my observations are: 1) LA is very strict with AirBnB’s & the cap on the # of occupancy days will hurt your return ratios 2) Lending standards in the midst of COVID-19 have tightened & some people such as “Jessica” who have $95k in student debt would have a hard time getting approved due to her debt-to-income ratio (“Jessica”, congrats on your house hack: where do you live so that we can get out of this rat race!) 3) Inventory levels remain low in LA & competition is stiff. It’s like a bunch of sharks circling a handful of goldfish. Sure, you can house hack in the Valley or in gentrifying downtown LA neighborhoods, but be mindful of the types of tenants you’d attract in...

United States on Apr 16, 2020

Amazon Customer: Excellent!

Canada on Jan 01, 2020

NikBirch: I am no expert but I'd bet this book would be great for experienced people as well! I am looking to buy my first home and I had heard about house hacking on the Bigger Pockets Podcast and they raved about this book so I just had to have it. I feel extremely confident about going into my first house hack and this book provides so much insight into where to look, how to get started, and trouble shooting. I know my first real estate deal may not be perfect but books like this at least help to boost my confidence to make the deal! Great Read!

India on Oct 29, 2019