25, Seeking advice and others' experience starting out

[Mason Crowther]

Hey all — from Dallas, I’m 25 and worked hard to grow income from $45k to $185k the last 2 years while keeping expenses the same. Always wanted to get in real estate growing up as I looked up to our landlord (cool guy).  I’d like to turn it into a business full time eventually and feel ready to start while working full time with my current financial situation. 

Seeking advice on which path to start with that would allow me to scale responsibility without locking most of my savings into one deal right away such as a larger multifamily. Curious what others started with and have scaled to.

If any are terrible options I'd like to know! I would like to help people whether its providing people places to live or showing someone later down the line how to do the same thing. I've been considering Section 8, BRRRR in Dallas (I enjoy seeing things come to life), value-add SFH (cosmetic to start), or sober living homes since I lived in one for a while (3.5 yrs sober now) and again want to help people. I know I have a lot to learn and would really appreciate any advice from those who've scaled responsibly into full-time investing as I'm fully wanting to learn and have been networking with others in the space.

[Mohammed Rahman]

I’m based in NYC and Long Island so I can’t speak to the Dallas market specifically, but the fundamentals of getting started really do carry over everywhere.

Before anything else, I’d strongly suggest sitting down with a couple of investor-friendly lenders. Not just any lender, but people who actually understand real estate investing and the strategies you’re considering. It immediately helps you get clarity on what you can realistically qualify for, and it saves you from chasing deals that don’t actually fit your financial picture. It also puts you in a much stronger position when the right opportunity shows up because you’re already prepared to move.

One strategy that still gets overlooked a lot for first-time investors is house hacking. If you buy a small multifamily, live in one unit, and rent out the others, you can often get better financing terms, lower your own housing costs, and start generating income at the same time. It’s usually one of the most efficient ways to get into your first deal without needing a huge amount of capital upfront, and it’s also a great way to learn the landlord side while you’re still close to the property.