House Hacking Is The Best Way To Buy Rentals & How To Get A 2% Mortgage Rate Today With Ryan Thomson (Ep 574)

About this episode

Ryan Thomson discusses the benefits of house hacking as a strategy for building a rental portfolio and shares insights on securing low mortgage rates.

Ryan Thomson has gone all in on house hacking and believes it’s one of the fastest ways to build a rental portfolio. Ryan loves house hacking because of the favorable financing. Instead of putting 20–25% down like a traditional investment property, he was able to buy properties with as little as 5% down while also getting some of the best interest rates available. Today, Ryan generates over $30,000 a year in profit from just 5 rentals that all started as house hacks. On this episode, Ryan explains how he was able to live for free while doubling the mortgage payment with rental income from roommates and tenants. We talk about why he uses a property manager even though he lives in the properties, and how he sets up chores and systems to keep shared living spaces clean and organized. Ryan also talks honestly about what it was like moving every year for 5 years straight and why, despite how difficult it was, the financial freedom it created made it completely worth it. What makes Ryan’s story even more interesting is that he wasn’t making a huge income when he got started, proving that building a portfolio doesn’t require a high salary if you’re willing to sacrifice and think…

People in this episode

Host: Dan Lane

Guest: Ryan Thomson

Topics covered

• house hacking
• rental properties
• mortgage rates
• financial freedom
• property management

Keywords

• house hacking
• rental income
• mortgage rates
• property management
• financial freedom

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Rental Income Podcast

More episodes of Rental Income Podcast With Dan Lane

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• Bonus: This Company Will Pay Your Rent If Your Tenant Stops Paying · May 14, 2026 · 20 min
• A Lot Has Gone Wrong With His Rentals…But He Still Thinks Real Estate Is Worth It With Ari Rubin (Ep 573) · May 12, 2026 · 23 min
• He Paid Off His Rentals... And Now He Regrets It With Dave Jacobs (Ep 572) · May 5, 2026 · 25 min