📈 My Real Estate Wealth-Building Plan at 20 Years Old

[Jack Pergola]

Hey everyone — I’m a 20-year-old junior in college (Economics major at Binghamton University), and I’ve been obsessively learning about real estate investing. After digging into strategy, leverage, and long-term wealth building, I’ve put together a game plan I plan to execute starting now and would love feedback or insight from more experienced investors.

🏡 Background

My parents own a home currently worth $2 million, bought for $500K

• There’s still a mortgage on it, but they have ~$1.8+ in equity
• My goal is to partner with my family and responsibly borrow against the house to start building a rental portfolio
• I live at home, have almost no expenses, and want to reinvest aggressively

💡 The Core Strategy

Finish college with minimal debt

1. Land a solid W-2 or commission-based job out of school (sales/consulting/real estate)
2. Convince my parents to give me partial ownership of the house or structure a joint borrowing arrangement
3. Take out an initial $300K–$600K loan against the home (not the full $1M+ possible)
   
• Use 25% down strategy to control $1.2M–$2M of real estate
• Buy 3–6 rental properties in cash-flowing markets
• Hold ~$50K–$100K in reserves to avoid overleveraging
4. Rent pays off all property debt + covers most (if not all) of the home loan
5. Use job income to fill any short-term gap (targeting break-even or net-positive cash flow by year 2)
6. Reinvest profits + refinance gains into new properties every 12–24 months
7. Eventually scale to 10–20 doors, pay off the home loan, and build a family portfolio

🧠 Long-Term Vision

Create a multi-generational wealth plan with my brothers

• Build an LLC or family trust to manage properties
• Use smart leverage + cash flow to retire early or buy full freedom
• Teach my family how to compound together
• Eventually pass on millions in property to our kids — no debt, just systems

Why I’m Posting

I don’t need hype — I want honest feedback

• What would you improve?
• What risks am I underestimating?
• Any tips on structuring family involvement and responsibilities?
• How would you scale this without going broke?

Thanks for reading. I’ve got the vision, the drive, and the family advantage — now I want to execute this intelligently.

Let me know your thoughts. 🙏

[Caleb Brown]

First off your parents aren't on board yet and frankly that's a big ask for them. Personally I would not want to risk their home or the relationship. Another thing, If you tap into the equity I highly doubt there will be much if any cashflow. With interest rates where they are it will eat up all of that. My initial thought is at 20 focus on finishing college and landing a job. From there house hack a 2-4 unit. As you learn and get experience you can explore using your parents home equity and figure out a partnership. Love the lofty goals but it's not bad to start small and get your feet under you. You are 20, plenty of time ahead of you