House Hacking Readiness Roadmap
Tell it where your finances are today and it builds a phased action plan to your first house hack, what to fix first, what to do next, and roughly how many months you are from a realistic offer. Free, no signup, and nothing you type leaves your browser.
Where you are today
Your readiness read —
Your phased plan
Phase 1, Foundation (start now)
Phase 2, Preparation (once Phase 1 is moving)
Phase 3, Execution (the last 60–90 days)
Planning estimates, not financial advice. Lender rules vary, an FHA-experienced loan officer is the final word on what you qualify for.
When the plan says you are ready to look at real listings, the next stops are the House Hack Calculator to screen deals and the Long-Term Projection to see what a keeper looks like after 10 years. If the cash gap is the long pole, the Down-Payment Budget turns your savings rate into a date.
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Sources
- [S1] U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Single Family Housing Policy Handbook 4000.1, checked September 2026: FHA’s minimum down payment on a one-to-four-unit home you live in is 3.5% with a credit score of 580 or higher, and 10% with a score of 500 to 579. www.hud.gov.