21 Yr Old New to RE

[Samuel Bower]

Hi, I just wanted to say thank you for taking the time to read this.

I am a minor league baseball player who wants to invest into real estate, but don't really know where to start. I have 40-60k to use, and would like to house hack here but I don't really know how that would work since i am unable to be there for half the year. I want to invest into real estate, but I am not confident if this is the right time or place to do it. 

[Robin Huff]

Hey Samuel,

While I don't know the specifics of your particular market I would suggest looking into your local Airbnb rules and regulations.  For example; in Denver if you are purchasing a property as your primary residence you are able to register that property for short term rentals.  So if it is something similar in your area you could purchase your first property and rent it out on a weekly (give or take) basis while you are out of town.  This would likely pay for a good percentage of your mortgage on a yearly basis.  Allowing you to save on your out of pocket living expenses to start saving for the next property.  I would focus on areas with good walkability or local attractions.  

[Brett Deas]

Have you heard of Ryan Pineda? He was a minor league player turned house flipper and he has a really cool story. 

One thing before even looking at how to invest or what different nuances there are I would recommend figuring out your goals first. Why do you want to invest? Once you know that it will help steer you along your path of investing!

[Ryan Lesley]

Hey @Samuel Bower, 

Welcome to bigger pockets and congrats on taking the first steps toward financial freedom with a house hack! 

You got yourself a Ryan Pineda origin story going there 😂 

Anyways, what I find with most people starting out nervous/fearful of getting stared with investing is that it comes down to the unknown. Simply not knowing the processes and different strategies of REI. My recommendation, besides getting in the forums and asking questions like this, is to go to local meetups and get around other investors. Ask questions, and define you listen to the BP podcasts and books. There is a ton of free and relatively inexpensive resources all right here.

Hope that helps and best of luck 🤝🍀

[Eliott Elias]

Nows the time, you buy when there is fear, be skeptical when everyone and their mom is buying. Depending on prices of homes in your area you may not even break even with your mortgage after your down payment. That's fine

[Kenny Smith]

@Samuel Bower

Welcome to BiggerPockets! You have hit the JACKPOT of resources for real estate investors. You can literally find answers to all of your questions within the confines of this site. What’s the best way to get started using BiggerPockets?

1. Subscribe to the BiggerPockets Money and Rookie Podcasts

2. Attend the FREE WEBINARS

3. Attend a Meetup in your area/virtual meet ups

4. Purchase the Beginner Books: How to Invest in Real Estate, Set for Life, The House Hacking Strategy

5. Peruse the forums, ask questions, and answer questions. If you are consistent with learning real estate over the next 4-6 months, you’ll be ready to purchase your first (or next) property in no time.

Best of Luck!

Kenny

[Nathan Gesner]

Quote from @Samuel Bower:

Welcome to the BiggerPockets forums!

You can househack, rent out the spare bedrooms to other people. When you travel, lock your bedroom door and leave. When you come back, unlock your bedroom door and move back in. The tenants keep doing what they doing and paying what they pay while you are gone. It's that easy!

[Ryan Thomson]

@Samuel Bower You can house hack. Just have to intend to move in there in the first 60 days. 

House Hacking is amazing. Here are some resources I found really helpful on my journey.

1. For podcasts I really like the Huse Hacking episodes on Bigger Pockets Podcast and other channels. Here is a playlist with the best House Hacking Podcasts I’ve found: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4A6uLsPfdWEMmJhG4TSjyb?si=743bb403548f47fb

2. Great beginners guide: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Ultimate_Beginners_Guide_BiggerPockets.pdf

3. The Book on House Hacking Strategies by Craig Curelop is also a fantastic book

4. Happy to talk if you want more advice

[Ben Rhodin]

Hey @Samuel Bower! Welcome to the forums and welcome to the world of REI. Don't worry too much about the fear and unknowns, everyone has been there and it doesn't go away. It just means you are going in the right direction.

I would definitely follow all the advice here so far and learn as much as you can. But in the end, nothing replaces experience. Find yourself an agent that focuses on house hackers and follow their guidance, then speak to a lender and see what you are qualified for. You could house hack with a rent-by-the-room strategy, or a small multifamily, or a single-family and just Airbnb it while you are away. These are all great strategies and will depend on what you qualify for, and what your goals are. Don't worry about having to be gone half the year, it will still be your "Personal Residence" it's like being on a travel contract. 

[Eric Yu]

Quote from @Samuel Bower:

Hi, I just wanted to say thank you for taking the time to read this.

I am a minor league baseball player who wants to invest into real estate, but don't really know where to start. I have 40-60k to use, and would like to house hack here but I don't really know how that would work since i am unable to be there for half the year. I want to invest into real estate, but I am not confident if this is the right time or place to do it. 

When it comes to real estate, there's always opportunities out there. Regardless of how things are shaping up from a macro-economic standpoint, you can still find deals that make sense. What I tell most investors these days it that you might want to shrink your buy box / criteria a bit, so you're more conservative with properties that you look at. 

Right now is still a great time to house hack & to be honest, there's some awesome buyer opportunities out there. I just helped a client buy a property $180k under the list price & it appraised $110k over what he got it at. He built in an INSTANT $110k of equity there. There's a lot of fear in the market right now, but that also means a TON of opportunity. Take it as a good thing that other people are fearful.