In 2018, I bought my first house hack—a 4 bed, 2 bath home in Aurora for $315,000. My mortgage was $2,000 a month. I rented out the three extra bedrooms: two for $850 each and one with a private bathroom for $950. That brought in $2,650 a month in rental income!

The three of us (including me) shared the hall bathroom, and we all shared the living spaces like the kitchen, living room, and backyard. I covered utilities, maintenance, and yard care, which ran about $300 per month. After expenses, I was cash flowing about $350 a month while living there for free—plus making a little extra—for four whole years!

In 2021, Max bought his first house hack—also in Aurora. It was a 4 bed, 3 bath home for $490,000, with a $2,700 mortgage. He got creative and converted two extra living rooms into bedrooms, turning the home into a 6-bedroom rental. His rental income? $5,000 per month!

He hired a property manager for $400/month, making this a fully passive rental, and spent about $500 per month on utilities and maintenance. After all expenses, his cash flow is around $1,400 per month!

For our next house hack in 2022, we leveled up! Max bought a 4,000 sq ft, 5 bed, 3.5 bath home for $665,000. We lived in the fully separate 1,100 sq ft basement suite with our own private garage and entrance (Max walled off the stairwell to separate the units).

The upstairs? It was a complete mess and needed a full renovation. Max turned two more living areas into bedrooms, creating a 7-bedroom Luxury Airbnb. The remodel cost was about $200,000, but it paid off! The Airbnb brings in $10,000 per month in rental income.

Of course, expenses were higher—about $3,000 per month for cleaning, maintenance, and the constant turnover of 16+ guests. But even after that, Max still cash flows $1,600 per month.

We lived there for two years—it was noisy, but this strategy paid us to live in basically our own apartment. Free living with profit? Yes, please!

In 2024, I bought in Westminster. It’s a 4 bed, 2 bath home that I snagged for $500,000, with a $3,100 mortgage.

This time, we lived upstairs! I converted an unfinished laundry room into a full kitchen, turning the 2 bed, 1 bath basement into a completely separate unit. We just had to add a door at the top of the stairs to fully divide the spaces.

Our lovely long-term tenants now pay $2,000 per month, and with about $300 in utilities and maintenance, our monthly cost to live there is just $1,400—the price of a one-bedroom apartment! But instead, we get to live in a fully updated home with a beautiful yard while making appreciation!

Plus, when we travel, I rent out our entire upstairs unit on Airbnb—bringing in an extra $1,000 per year!