Would appreciate advice from experienced people

[Nick Filer]

Hi, I’ve recently gained interest in real estate, more specifically rental properties such as single family homes or duplexes. My problem is Im in my mid twenties and only have about $50,000 in the bank. I’m wondering if there are opportunities to get started without having $150,000+ in my bank account.

[Richard Loniewski]

If you can get pre qualified with a hard money lender you should only need to bring about 20% down and closing costs. Your best option is to BRRRR, where you can get short term loan with rehab, fix it up get it rented then refi and pull as much cash out as you can.

[Theresa Harris]

First I'd say you are in your mid 20s and have $50K in your bank account-great job. when buying rentals, you only need 20% down, but you do need the ability to borrow. Talk to a bank and find out how much they will lend you for a mortgage to get an idea of where you stand.  

[Brad Jacobson]

$50k saved in your 20s is great!  If you're willing, you should totally house hack.  

I started with about $20k at 24 and bought a 4/2 house in a neighborhood I really liked.  I rented out the three extra bedrooms to my cousin and friends and lived for free for a few years.

Then I turned that property into a rental with about $600/month in cashflow and bought the home I currently live in.  It's a large 5/3 and we rent out the basement and my wife and I raise our little family in the 3/2 upstiars.  We also live for next to nothing thanks to the rent income.  

I bought both homes with just 5% down on conventional loans.

If you're not willing to house hack, you can still buy and owner-occupied property for the 3-5% down, live in it for 12 months, and then turn it into a rental.  That's called the nomad strategy.

Good luck!

[Nathan Gesner]

Quote from @Nick Filer:

Hi, I’ve recently gained interest in real estate, more specifically rental properties such as single family homes or duplexes. My problem is Im in my mid twenties and only have about $50,000 in the bank. I’m wondering if there are opportunities to get started without having $150,000+ in my bank account.

 You can purchase an owner-occupied property with less than 5% down. Look for fourplexes. Live in one unit, rent the other three out.

It's hard to find something affordable in California and the rent laws are terrible for Landlords, particularly those lacking experience. I recommend you maximize income/savings while in California but start looking to move to a more affordable state with fair Landlord laws.

[Robin Simon]

I would say that $50,000 is more than enough to get started and dive in - remember, learning from doing is always the best way forward in real estate.  Your only issue is that you should probably target long-distance real estate investing as $50k is more than enough in cheaper markets like the Midwest and you will probably have to start outside of Orange County unless you want to spend additional years waiting and saving up rather than starting

[Nick Filer]

Very interesting. I have a lot to look into. Thank you all for advice! 

[Nicholas Coulter]

@Nick Filer Lets talk house hacking. You can get a deal on the MLS now that could work out for you! Lets connect and talk more.

[John Morgan]

@Nick Filer

I only had 30k in savings when I started 7 years ago. Lol. 50k is more than enough.

[Eliott Elias]

I own 13 properties and started with zero money. I became known as a deal finder, and the money came like i was a magnet.  

[Joseph Crunkilton]

Nick, 

Absolutely! All you need is 20% down for a mortgage. A big reason I got started out of state investing was because I could buy multiple properties for what I could buy one for in Portland. With those funds you could buy 2 SFH that net you a few hundred bucks in cash flow.

Have you ever thought about out of state investing?

[V.G Jason]

Not all you need is 20%, you need reserves and you to need to invest where you're able to be resilient to the basic issues that come with investing. So don't listen to this you just need 20%. You'll need more.

With that said, $50k in more affordable markets that'll be more landlord friendly is very possible. And in your mid twenties, I'd totally roll the dice assuming you don't have many others relying on you. At that age, time in> timing. 

[Chris Farinella]

Quote from @John Morgan:

@Nick Filer

I only had 30k in savings when I started 7 years ago. Lol. 50k is more than enough.

Mind sharing your first deal in a nutshell? I’m in a similar situation and have no idea how to start with $50k. Granted I’m in NY so everything seems impossible

[Peter Mckernan]

Quote from @Nick Filer:

Hi, I’ve recently gained interest in real estate, more specifically rental properties such as single family homes or duplexes. My problem is Im in my mid twenties and only have about $50,000 in the bank. I’m wondering if there are opportunities to get started without having $150,000+ in my bank account.

Great job one the 50K in the bank, that is solid to start out with! 
If you are willing to live in a duplex or triplex for a year, I would do 3.5% down or 5% on the purchase of a duplex, if you are going to house hack/live in one for a triplex you will need 15% down per required on financing. For area, I would suggest a little more inland, Riverside, Redlands, Upland, some of these areas to take a look at since the price point is a little lower on that first purchase. 

[John Morgan]

Quote from @Chris Farinella:

Quote from @John Morgan:

@Nick Filer

I only had 30k in savings when I started 7 years ago. Lol. 50k is more than enough.

Mind sharing your first deal in a nutshell? I’m in a similar situation and have no idea how to start with $50k. Granted I’m in NY so everything seems impossible

I made an offer to the listing agent for my first deal 7 years ago. I had a couple beers with my wife and told her it would be fun to lob out an offer on a rental we saw a few days previously with the listing agent. I did absolutely zero due diligence and didn’t know what I was doing. They accepted and I freaked out because we only had 30k to our name. Lol. But picked up learning about real estate real fast. Lol. It’s definitely not rocket science. Numbers don’t like and you can get really wealthy if you just jump in. Anyone can do this. If I can do it, anyone can! I’m now cash flowing 12k/month after all my expenses. My wife quit her nursing job in May since our rental income is twice what she was making. It’s easy to build wealth in real estate. Just don’t over think and get started. And if you can, reinvest all your cash flow back into the next property. Then pull equity out of your properties when they appreciate. I’ve bought 12 or 13 rentals from doing cash out refis. Put that equity to use! It feels like buying houses for free when you deploy equity from other properties to scale up.