How to start out at 20yrs? Rentals

Question

I’m 20yrs old with a wife and 2 kids and I want to make my wife a stay at home mom. I’ve been studying rentals for awhile specifically multi-family homes. But I feel like I found good multi-family homes to buy but I don’t fully understand. Then when I do buy a property I don’t understand the loans and the paperwork behind everything and everything I need. I wish I had a true step by step guide in detail of what to do and how to do it and what I need from agents, to the paperwork, to the money, to understand loans. I’m trying so hard but I’m scared I’m going to get a rental and I’m going to mess it up and mess it up for my family and really struggle. I wish I had and have someone who could teach face to face.

Bryce Jamison · Answer

I feel for you. If I were in your position, I'd build my financial foundation before getting into real estate investing. I'd ensure I avoided, and paid off, all consumer debt, and built a big. beefy emergency fund. Simultaneously, I'd be trying to increase my income. This could be switching careers or companies, earning extra degrees / certificates, or picking up more work.

After that I'd save up for a primary residence. You'll then start building wealth through debt pay down and appreciation.

After that, and this could take 5+ years, I might consider real estate investing. You can sit down with lenders and brokers and have them explain, very slowly and simply, the steps in the process. You can also go to local real estate meetups to add more context from experienced investors.

For now, I'd recommend diving more into books, podcast, and the forums and going to as many meetups as you can. It's hard to get quality answer with broad questions on overall strategy, but if you ask specific questions, you can get some great, firsthand, experience here.

Minho Lee · Answer

Hey Acacio,

What you’re feeling is more common than it looks on here—especially when you’re trying to jump into multifamily while also learning financing at the same time. There’s a big gap between “I can find deals” and “I fully understand the closing table,” and most first-time investors only bridge that gap by doing it with people who’ve already done it.

A couple grounded thoughts:

First, you don’t need to understand everything before you buy. You just need to understand the next step in front of you. A lot of new investors get stuck trying to master loans, contracts, inspections, taxes, etc. all at once. In reality, each piece gets easier when you walk through it with a lender + agent who regularly does investor deals.

Second, the “fear of messing it up” is real—but most expensive mistakes don’t come from buying a property, they come from buying the wrong one without numbers you trust. That’s where a good team matters more than more studying. A lender who can clearly explain your loan options (FHA, conventional, DSCR later on), and an agent who can break down rents, expenses, and realistic cash flow will remove 80% of that anxiety.

As others already said, try to listen to as many podcasts as possible and surround yourself with investor-friendly experts. Ask questions, take them out for lunch/coffee, and attend local real estate meetups.

Shiloh Lundahl · Answer

@Acacio Abbott Give us more context. Which city do you live in? What is your current income? How much is your wife's current income. What do you do for work right now?

Kim Gray · Answer

Acacio the fear you are feeling right now is not a weakness. It is proof that you understand the weight of what you are trying to build and that you take your family seriously. That is exactly the right mindset for this.

Let me give you the step by step you are looking for.

Step one — education before action. Read The Book on Rental Property Investing by Brandon Turner. It covers everything from analyzing deals to understanding loans to managing tenants. Free at most libraries. Read it before you make any offers.

Step two — understand the loan process. For a first rental property most investors use a conventional loan requiring 20 to 25 percent down. If you plan to live in one unit of a multifamily — called house hacking — FHA loans allow as little as 3.5 percent down. Talk to a mortgage broker who works with investors specifically. Not just any lender. An investor friendly mortgage broker understands what you are trying to do.

Step three — find an investor friendly real estate agent. Not just any buyer's agent. Someone who works with investors regularly, understands cash flow analysis, and can help you evaluate whether a property actually makes financial sense before you buy it.

Step four — find your local REIA group in Kansas City. Real people who have done exactly what you are trying to do. Show up. Ask questions. These relationships are worth more than any course.

Step five — start tracking everything from day one. Every dollar in. Every dollar out. Your records are your business.

The fear of messing it up and hurting your family is what separates serious investors from people who just talk about it. You are already thinking like an owner.

You can absolutely do this Acacio. Your family is counting on you and you showed up. That matters.

Marnit Brown · Answer

Hey, starting at 20 is a huge advantage. Your biggest asset right now is time, so focus on building your income and credit score first. With conventional rates around 7-7.5% in 2026, you'll want a solid down payment and good credit to avoid hard money at 11-13%.

Consider house hacking a small multi-unit with an FHA loan – low down payment, live in one unit, rent the others. Use the cash flow to save for your next deal. Don't chase "deals" yet; chase a solid W2 income and savings rate. That foundation will let you jump when the right opportunity comes. What's your current savings and credit score looking like?

Bruce Lynn · Answer

Welcome to Dallas and congratulations on your move and thinking and planning for the future.

Wild advice....but here it is.   Focus on building a big giant next egg over the next year or two.  $100,000. Focus.

How can you do that?  For many seems impossible.

Maybe live onsite at a self storage place in their small apartment above the office or in a RV onsite.  Maybe your wife works in the office and you do your regular full time job and then work weekends at the self storage doing maintenance and leasing.  For you at 20, I would suggest a minimum of 2 jobs and probably 3.   If you have to deliver pizza or uber eats on Fri/Sat/Sun nites a minimum of 4 hours.  If you're living on site can you run a FB Marketplace business out of the throwaway or abandoned items left behind vs throwing them in the trash.  Sure the lockers get auctioned off now and then, but sometimes the buyers don't like what they bought.  You take it for free and resell it.  (I'm thinking this is your wife's business.)  Probably easy $300-$500/month.  Make a deal with the owner that you can get a free vacant unit.  Make a deal with all the junk haulers in the area to get good stuff so they don't have to pay dump fees.   You could also start your own haul off business and solicit apartment complexes or other storage unit owners to do the junk hauloff.  Remember you are saving $100,000 in a year.

You could also perhaps live in an apartment and trade rent for being on-site maintenance.  Remember you're working your full time job M-F 8-6pm and you're available nites and weekends to do on site work.  Maybe the owner gets 2 for 1 service and your wife can working in the leasing office Saturdays and 2-3 days a week part time or as needed.  Now you're saving $1500-$2000/month on rent and maybe also picking up extra income as a leasing agent.  Bank your salary and still do uber eats Fri/Sat/Sun nites for bonus income.

Third option....find a RV park owner or multiple park owner and live onsite in an RV or mobile home for a couple of years, perhaps rent free and management the parks part time.  So you're working full time in your day job and doing park management nites and weekends, so you pay no rent.  Make a deal with the owner to let you use some spaces rent free if they are vacant.  Buy a cheap RV someplace, park it, lease it out.  I'll bet you could find used RVs somewhere for $10,000.  No lot fee for you, and rent them for $600-$1000/month.  I don't think that is long term scalable strategy, but think if you could have 5 RVs @ $600 month rent, $3000/month, no lot rent.  You buy each one for cash.

While you are in any one of those 3 situations you are also focused on learning and improving and saving money.  You're either learning large multifamily, self storage, or RV parks....and some chance the owners of those also have some single family if that is your true interest.   You're learning a lot there if you are focused on learning.  You may be learning contracts, you're learning collections, you're learning maintenance, you're learning good (or bad) owner relations.  Make sure you meet the owner every time they're visiting the property and ask good questions and suggest ways to make more money or to save money.  I would say after you have been there a year and making awesome contributions to profitability ask if there is a way you could invest in the project or their next deal....often the minimums are $50-$100,000 for most people, but maybe they let staff in for $5,000-$10,000-$20,000.

After you have done one of these strategies or something similar for 2 years and saved a ton of cash, buy a house to occupy and rehab.  Start small and cheap.  Maybe a VA foreclosure with zero down payment.  Live in it for a year and do it again and again and again.  My mentor moved something like 24 times in his first 25 years of marriage.

Talk with your wife about these strategies.  It's a team sport including wife and maybe your kids.  Make saving money your hobby and goal.  Eat at home as much as you can.  Drive older cars.  Think to yourself every time someone makes fun of your clothes, or your car, or where you live that you're building a giant wealth machine.  You can just smile back at them and know you're the guy out on a Saturday mowing the lawn and watering the flowers at the APARTMENT complex you own.  I can tell you that was another mentor I had and worked for growing up.  Drove an old truck, mostly wore overalls or coveralls, mowed the lawn at all his complexes if I didn't beat him to it....and owned a lot of real estate.  A LOT.   Now he had a different strategy about moving his own home.  I think he only had 3 homes during his married life and maybe moved every 20 years once the house was paid off.You don't have to know all the ins and outs of contracts, and math, and financing as you get started.  Learn over time.  Build a great team of realtors, bankers, investors as you build your cash bank.  They'll help you when you are ready.

Also while you are in Dallas, attend an investment club once in a while, when you are not working.  That's your rest break.  Get one of the owners of your dream to speak at the club.  They're always looking for great speakers.  So you stroke their ego and you win points at the investment club and maybe learn a thing or two at the same time.

Good luck and best wishes.

Austin Moore · Answer

The fact that you’re scared of messing it up is not a bad sign. That probably means you’re taking the responsibility seriously.

I would not move towards buying a multifamily. I’d make the first step sitting down with a lender in the Dallas area and having them walk you through what you can realistically qualify for. Bring your income, debt, credit, savings, and your moving timeline. Once you understand the loan side, the rest of the plan gets a lot clearer.

House hacking a 2–4 unit property may be worth asking about, especially if you plan to live in one of the units. Just make sure the payment works even if the rental income is lower than expected or the unit sits empty for a bit.

I’d also start talking to the right people before buying anything. That does not mean paying a full team upfront. It means having a lender explain the loan side, finding an agent who understands investor-style purchases, and knowing who you would call for inspection and insurance once a real property is on the table.

At 20, you have time.

Nate Monson · Answer

Hi @Acacio Abbott I would echo what many have said. Start with your financial foundation. Investing in a property before you have proper reserves can end up setting you back even further. You're 20 years old and have plenty of time to be successful even if it doesn't feel like you do. Good luck

How to start out at 20yrs? Rentals

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