DENVER - ColoradoDesk -- Chad Rocke, Director of Sales at The FI Team with eXp Realty, has published a new guide for buyers who want to use house hacking to make Denver homeownership more workable in 2026.

The guide, "House Hacking in Denver in 2026 (what I'd tell a first time buyer)," is available now on Rocke's Denver real estate blog. Read the live guide (https://www.cityofdenverhomes.com/blog/house-ha...)

The timing follows the Denver Metro Association of Realtors' September 2026 Market Trends Report, published October 3. The report counted 13,567 active residential listings at the end of September and 4.76 months of inventory across the metro. DMAR said buyers have more selection and more room to negotiate. Read the DMAR report (https://www.dmarealtors.com/news/market-trends/...)

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Rocke's guide explains how buyers can live in one part of a property and rent out the rest through a duplex, triplex, fourplex, accessory dwelling unit or rent by the room setup. It also pushes back on the idea that house hacking automatically means living for free.

The guide example starts with a $600,000 duplex bought with 3.5 percent down. With a sample 6.75 percent rate, taxes, insurance and mortgage insurance, the total monthly payment lands around $4,500. Against $2,000 in gross rent, that is about $2,500 per month before maintenance, vacancy and repairs.

"House hacking is not a trick to make your payment disappear. It is a way to have rent help with the cost while you build equity. The guide walks through the real numbers because a deal that only works if everything goes right is not a deal I would want a first time buyer to count on," Rocke said.

The guide also covers FHA owner occupant basics, the self sufficiency test for three and four unit properties, Denver ADU considerations, rent evidence, repair reserves, cash cushions and when to walk away from a property.

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Rocke bought his first house hack in 2015, a Milwaukee duplex where he lived in one side and rented the other. He now owns 11 rental doors across two states and runs a Denver house hacking meetup where buyers and investors compare real numbers, mistakes and deals.

The full guide is available now.

House Hacking in Denver in 2026

About Chad Rocke

Chad Rocke is Director of Sales at The FI Team with eXp Realty and an investor friendly real estate agent in Denver. He helps buyers, sellers and investors evaluate homes, house hacks and small multifamily properties across the Denver metro.

Chad Rocke

The FI Team with eXp Realty

chad@thefiteam.com

(719) 350-6436