I worked 60 hours a week and lived at home til I was almost 25. Sacrificed luxury items, and every cent from tax returns and side jobs went into savings. Still to this day, I'm very caution on wasteful spending, I save a lot from my current job at a defense contractor because I want to go full time investing...feel free to ask anything through a PM if you'd like, I'm on my 2nd multi house hack, and have ventured into finding off market deals and flips as well.
When I FIRST started i was a builder and did custom builds then got financed with zero money down on spec homes. Then the 2008 crash happened and I lost a ton of money, but paid all my debts then took a job out of state.
Recently I got back into it with money I made on the sale of my last personal residence. About 100k
This money I consider house money because its not my retirement, not my kids college, not my home equity. Just cash made from moving.
If you are willing to move, the best way to get started in real estate investing is to house-hack. Acquire a 2 to 4 unit property with a 3.5% down FHA loan. Live in one unit and rent out the others.
If you aren't willing to move, you will need to save up for a 25% down payment or pursue a creative financing strategy with the owner, like seller financing or lease option.
@Account Closed ... I'm just starting to make payments. It's actually fairly inexpensive in the grand scheme. The bank I closed with was running an introductory fixed rate for 6 months then will increase to a variable rate thereafter. I just like the fact that I can pay it down and draw against it for 10 years. Repay term is 20. I hope to pay the house off in 10 years or less using the HELoC funds along the way to purchase and renovate more properties.