How to Use a Basement Apartment to Pay Your Mortgage in Herriman
You find a beautiful four-bedroom home in Herriman. The payment is $4,200 a month. Your heart sinks. There's no way you can swing that on your salary.
But wait. The listing mentions a finished basement apartment with a separate entrance. The rental income? About $1,600 a month.
Suddenly that $4,200 payment becomes $2,600. Now you're in the game.
This is not a trick. It's a strategy called house hacking, and it's one of the smartest moves you can make in Herriman right now. With home prices still high and interest rates sitting around 7%, a lot of families are using basement apartments to make the math work. Some call them ADUs-accessory dwelling units. Some call them mother-in-law apartments. We just call them smart.
Herriman is built for this. The city has huge lots, walk-out basements, and neighborhoods where half the homes already have separate living spaces downstairs. If you know the rules and run the numbers right, you can live in a nicer home than you thought possible. And you can start building wealth from day one.
The Real Numbers Behind Herriman House Hacking
Most people underestimate how much rental income changes everything. So we will walk through a real scenario.
You buy a home in Herriman for $600,000. You put down 5% with a conventional loan. That's $30,000 down. Your loan amount is $570,000. At a 7% interest rate, your principal and interest payment is about $3,794 per month. Add in property taxes, insurance, and HOA fees, and your total monthly housing cost lands around $4,500.
Now add the basement apartment. It rents for $1,600 a month. Your net payment drops to $2,900. That's a payment most families can actually handle.
But here's the kicker: lenders will count that rental income when they qualify you. Most lenders will use 75% of the projected rent to offset your debt-to-income ratio. So if the apartment can rent for $1,600, they'll give you credit for $1,200 a month in income. That boosts your buying power by about $80,000 to $100,000 depending on your other debts.
Translation: you can afford a $600,000 home in Herriman instead of a $500,000 home in West Jordan. You get the bigger yard. The better schools. The mountain views. All because you're willing to share your basement.
And if you ever want to stop renting it out, you still own the whole house. The equity is yours. The appreciation is yours. The tax write-offs along the way? Also yours.
Herriman's Zoning Rules for Basement Apartments
You can't just throw a tenant in your basement and call it legal. Herriman has specific rules for internal accessory dwelling units, and you need to follow them if you want to avoid fines or problems down the road.
First, the apartment must have a separate entrance. That means a door that opens to the outside without walking through the main house. Most Herriman homes with walk-out basements already have this. If your basement is not a walk-out, you'll need to add an exterior door and possibly a small stairwell. Budget around $3,000 to $8,000 for that work depending on how much digging and concrete is involved.
Second, you need at least one additional parking space for the unit. Herriman requires this to keep street parking from getting out of hand. If your driveway is wide enough, you're fine. If not, you may need to pour a small pad or designate a spot on your property.
Third, the owner must live in either the main house or the basement unit. This is an owner-occupancy rule. You cannot buy a Herriman home with a basement apartment and rent out both floors. One of them has to be your primary residence.
Fourth, you need to register the IADU with the city. This is a simple process, but it's required. You fill out a form, pay a small fee, and provide proof that the unit meets safety codes. That means working smoke detectors, egress windows in bedrooms, and a separate address or unit number for mail and emergency services.
Most homes that already have a finished basement apartment are grandfathered in or were permitted correctly when built. But if you're buying a home and planning to finish the basement yourself, make sure you pull permits and do it right. Unpermitted work can kill a future sale and leave you liable if something goes wrong.
Our Herriman real estate page has a full breakdown of neighborhoods where basement apartments are most common, and we can connect you with contractors who do this type of work every week.
Pre-Finished Apartment or Blank Canvas?
You have two paths here. Buy a home with the basement apartment already done, or buy a cheaper home with an unfinished basement and build it out yourself.
The first option is faster and easier. You close on the home, find a tenant, and start collecting rent within 30 days. But you'll pay a premium. Homes in Herriman with finished, legal basement apartments typically sell for $50,000 to $80,000 more than identical homes with unfinished basements. Buyers know what they're getting, and they're willing to pay for it.
The second option takes time and money up front, but you can build exactly what you want. Finishing a basement in Herriman costs between $50 and $90 per square foot depending on finishes, plumbing, and how much of the work you do yourself. A 1,000-square-foot apartment could run you anywhere from $50,000 to $90,000 all-in.
If you go the DIY route, plan for at least three to six months of construction time. You'll need to hire a contractor, pull permits, install a kitchenette, add a bathroom, frame walls, run electrical, and pass inspections. It's not a weekend project.
That said, you can often buy a home with an unfinished basement for less money, roll the construction costs into a renovation loan or use savings, and end up with more equity than if you'd bought the finished version. Plus, you control the layout and the quality of the work.
We help buyers run these numbers all the time. Cory will walk the property with you and help you figure out what makes sense based on your budget, timeline, and risk tolerance. If you want to learn more about financing options for this type of project, check out our buying page for details on renovation loans and first-time buyer programs that work in Utah.
Multi-Generational Living in Herriman
Not everyone wants to rent to strangers. A lot of families are using basement apartments to live with aging parents or adult children. This is called multi-generational housing, and it's becoming more common across the Wasatch Front.
The setup works like this: you buy a home in a neighborhood like Rosecrest or Butterfield Canyon. Your parents or your grown kid lives in the basement apartment. They either pay you rent, help with the mortgage, or contribute in other ways like childcare or household expenses. Everyone gets privacy. Everyone saves money. And you all get to live in a better area than you could afford separately.
This strategy is especially powerful in Herriman because the homes are big, the lots are spacious, and the schools are strong. Families want to be here. But affordability is tight. Pooling resources makes it possible.
There's also a tax angle. If your parent or adult child pays you fair market rent, you can deduct expenses like repairs, utilities, and depreciation on that portion of the home. Talk to a CPA about the specifics, but the math usually works in your favor.
And when your situation changes-maybe your parents move to assisted living or your kid buys their own place-you can rent the apartment to a tenant and keep the income stream going. The flexibility is huge.
Building Long-Term Wealth with Rental Income
House hacking is not just about surviving your first few years in a home. It's about building wealth over time.
Every month that tenant pays rent, they're helping pay down your mortgage. Over 30 years, that's hundreds of thousands of dollars in principal reduction you didn't have to pay yourself. And while that's happening, your home is appreciating. Herriman home values have climbed an average of 6% to 8% per year over the past decade. A $600,000 home today could be worth $900,000 in ten years.
Now add in the tax benefits. You can deduct a portion of your mortgage interest, property taxes, insurance, repairs, and even depreciation on the rental unit. Those deductions can save you thousands of dollars a year.
And if you ever decide to sell, you can use the equity from your Herriman home to buy another property-maybe one with two basement apartments, or a small duplex, or a vacation rental in Southern Utah. The first property is the hardest. After that, the snowball starts rolling.
Some of our clients have gone from house hacking in Herriman to owning three or four rental properties within a decade. They didn't get lucky. They just started smart and stayed patient.
If you have questions about any of this, our FAQ page covers a lot of the common stuff buyers ask about rentals, financing, and investment strategy.
How Salisbury Real Estate Helps You Find and Finance the Right Property
We work with house hackers all the time. Cory knows which Herriman neighborhoods have the most homes with legal basement apartments, which builders include them as standard, and which streets have the best rental demand. He'll pull comps, help you estimate rental income, and run the numbers with you before you make an offer.
Jenni keeps the process organized. She tracks deadlines, coordinates inspections, and makes sure your lender has everything they need to count that rental income toward your qualification. She also helps you find contractors if you're planning to finish a basement after closing.
We also offer a free 2026 home warranty on every purchase, which covers major systems and appliances. That's a huge benefit when you're renting out part of your home, because you're not on the hook for expensive repairs in year one.
And if you're worried about committing to a long contract with an agent, don't be. We don't lock you in. If it's not working, you can walk away. No hard feelings. We believe you should work with us because we're helpful, not because you're stuck.
House hacking in Herriman is one of the most powerful ways to afford a great home and start building wealth at the same time. The city makes it easy. The rental market is strong. And the numbers actually work.
Whether you're buying your first home or your fifth, we can help you figure out if this strategy makes sense for you. Visit salisburyre.com or give us a call. We'll walk through the math, show you what's available, and help you make a smart decision.
Cory Salisbury | Realtor® - Equity Real Estate
