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Before we dive into the sneaky duplex magic, let me take you back a bit. Eric and I lived in an 880 sq ft home with one bathroom for five years—together with our dog, cat, and all his tools and projects. It was tight, to say the least, but honestly, I’m glad we put our relationship through that mini test. I had bought that house with my sister, and originally, I only planned to live there for a few years. I loved the neighborhood, and at the time, the space felt manageable.
But then, life happens! Eric and I started talking about having kids, and with the stress of feeling cramped, we knew it was time to think bigger. The challenge? I desperately wanted to stay in our beloved—and now very expensive—neighborhood. That’s when we knew we had to get creative. And this is how we made it work: we built a sneaky duplex.
What’s a Sneaky Duplex, Anyway?
The term might sound mysterious, but a sneaky duplex is one of the most brilliant real estate hacks we’ve used to generate income while keeping our dream location. It’s all about taking a part of your home—like a spare bedroom—and transforming it into a separate space you can rent out, usually by adding an exterior door. It’s the ultimate way to house hack without needing to buy an entirely new property.
When Eric and I were looking for our next home, we specifically searched for a property we could turn into a sneaky duplex. We found the perfect house with a guest bedroom downstairs, facing the street, and an attached bathroom. The setup was ideal for adding an exterior door to create a private entrance for guests. So, for around $10K, we made the necessary modifications, including adding the door and installing a bookshelf that doubles as a hidden entrance to separate the guest space from the rest of our home. And just like that, we turned our new house into a sneaky duplex!
How Much Did It Help? Let’s Talk Numbers
Here’s where it gets exciting. By renting out that sneaky duplex space as an Airbnb, we managed to cover 48% of our yearly mortgage payment. That’s not just extra cash—it’s what allowed us to stay in our neighborhood, buy a bigger home, and still invest in other parts of our financial future. It gave us flexibility and the ability to grow our family without uprooting our lives.
The Ultimate House Hacking Strategy
When we were searching for our home, finding a house we could house hack was top priority. House hacking—renting out part of your home to help cover the mortgage—has been key to affording our dream location without sacrificing our financial goals. The sneaky duplex strategy made it all possible. It’s a solution that works whether you’re buying your first home or upgrading, like we did.
A lot of people think you need to wait for the “right” market conditions or save up a ton of cash to buy a home. But with a little creativity, like turning a bedroom into an income-generating asset, you can start much sooner than you think.
Real Estate Creativity: The Key to Staying Ahead
I’ve always loved creative real estate because it gives you options. You don’t have to follow the traditional path of saving 20% down or buying with a spouse. You can get creative by buying with friends, family, or, like us, by house hacking with a sneaky duplex. There are endless ways to make real estate work for you!
This is exactly what we dive into in the Open House Education community. It’s a space for women like you who are ready to think outside the box and take action on their real estate goals.
Ready to Take the Next Step?
If creative real estate strategies like house hacking and the sneaky duplex have you curious, our Open House Education community is opening up to the public from November 12th-22nd! We’ll be covering creative real estate strategies like house hacking, sneaky duplexes, and buying with friends, and providing tools and support to help you take action. After November, the doors won’t reopen until mid-to-late 2025, so don’t miss your chance to be part of this movement.
And if you want to hear more real estate tips and inspiring stories, check out my podcast, The Open House Podcast: Where Women Talk Real Estate. I share how we made our sneaky duplex work for us, plus interviews with women who are building wealth through creative real estate strategies.
Click here to join the waitlist for Open House Education, and let’s turn your home into a wealth-building asset!
