Breaking out into the SFR world as a young busy attorney saddled with student loans?
Hello BiggerPockets!
I'm a 26 y/o second-year busy corporate lawyer in Charlotte, NC with a goal to invest in at least 10 cash-flowing buy/hold SFR properties in the next 5 years. I'd like to net at least $200 per SFR property. If I see an opportunity to invest in more, I'm all for it. My wife and I have about $70k in student loans and are eager to pay it off, but we're also eager to invest in real estate.
I have a six-figure+ salary, but most of it goes towards aggressively paying down student loans, which will be paid off in the next 1.5 years. Meanwhile, I am educating myself on investing in SFRs so that once I'm debt-free, I can begin freely acquiring SFRs.
My question is, should I begin investing in SFRs now and only make minimum monthly student loan payments? Or should I continue to aggressively pay down my student loans (currently at 6.5% interest rate) and then begin investing in SFRs once I'm debt-free?
I hesitate to jump into the SFR world saddled with 70k worth of student loans, and am already living on a tight budget to pay those loans off. Thus, I'm considering jumping into the wholesaling world while I pay my loans off to get experience in finding good deals.
My unfair advantage in real estate is that I've had 10 years turn-key construction experience, my older brother is a contractor here in Charlotte, and my other older brother is a real estate agent in Charlotte.
Any comments/advice/experience would be greatly appreciated! Thanks and looking forward to contributing!
Anatoly