House Hacking Calculator

What is House Hacking

House hacking is the strategy of purchasing a 2–4 unit property, living in one unit, and renting out the others to offset your mortgage. With FHA financing you can purchase with as little as 3.5% down while using rental income from the other units to help qualify. For many first-time investors this is the single most accessible path into real estate — owner-occupied financing rates and down payments on an income-producing property.

What TROV Models Automatically for FHA House Hacking

• Owner occupancy assumption — when FHA is selected the tool automatically assumes you occupy one unit. Rental income is calculated from non-owner units only, eliminating the most common FHA modeling error.
• FHA self-sufficiency test — for 3–4 unit properties this activates automatically per HUD Handbook 4000.1. The tool calculates whether 75% of gross market rent from all units covers full PITI plus mortgage insurance and displays a clear pass or fail result. No other residential underwriting tool models this automatically.
• UFMIP — upfront mortgage insurance premium at 1.75% of the loan amount, financed into the loan.
• Annual MIP — cancels after 132 months for loans originated at or below 90% LTV. Cancellation is reflected in actual monthly cash flow projections.

Key Metrics for House Hacking

• Effective monthly housing cost after rental income offset
• DSCR and cash flow impact across Best, Base, Worst, and Stress scenarios
• Breakeven occupancy — what vacancy rate causes the deal to break even
• Long-term equity growth and hold-period returns including IRR and equity multiple

When a House Hack Works

A strong house hacking deal significantly reduces or eliminates your monthly housing cost while building equity. The FHA self-sufficiency test is the critical hurdle for 3–4 unit properties — if 75% of all unit rents do not cover the full PITI payment the deal cannot close with FHA financing regardless of your income or credit. Running this test before making an offer can save significant time and money.