College Student Near The Rochester Area Looking for Advice

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College Student Near The Rochester Area Looking for Advice

Kyle Alberry
Watertown, NY · Member since 2013 · 24 posts · 3 votes

Hello BiggerPockets community!

I made a post a couple months ago expressing my interest in real estate, and this is another post showing that I still express interest in financial freedom at 19 years old, and also that I am now willing to take action. 

Through classes and holding a part time job, I would love to learn the real estate market on the side, even if it does not net me sufficient profits. If it comes down to it, I would even go as far as to leave my part time job just to pursue my passion for real estate. 

I go to school at the College at Brockport, which is about 20 minutes away from the Rochester, NY area, and I believe Rochester is a great place to invest. My preferred form of real estate investing would be multifamily long term rentals, and I have huge goals with my career. I would also be interested in fix and flips to obtain more capital.

I have a friend who is not interested in real estate and personal finance per se, but he does a lot of hands on work, and he said he would love to team up with me for some rehabs in the future.

BiggerPockets, with all of your expertise, what do you think my first step should be? Would it be realistic for me to close on an investment property before I leave college?

All help is appreciated, thank you,

Kyle

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Mark W.
Investor · Rochester, NY · Member since 2009 · 91 posts · 59 votes
12y

Not sure if you have any other capital, but I would imagine it would be difficult to obtain financing with a part time job.

Do what I did -- finish your degree and then buy up a multi as soon as you can and live in one unit while renting out the others.  It's the easiest, lowest risk way to see if this business is for you.  Rinse and repeat.

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  • Mark W.
    Investor · Rochester, NY · Member since 2009 · 91 posts · 59 votes
    12y

    Not sure if you have any other capital, but I would imagine it would be difficult to obtain financing with a part time job.

    Do what I did -- finish your degree and then buy up a multi as soon as you can and live in one unit while renting out the others.  It's the easiest, lowest risk way to see if this business is for you.  Rinse and repeat.

    1Reply
  • Rebecca Lebowitz
    Rochester, NY · Member since 2014 · 138 posts · 45 votes
    12y

    I agree with Mark, it may be difficult for you to get lenders to work with you at this point. I would suggest perhaps meeting some local investors/property managers (I would be happy to meet with you), go to some FFREIA meetings, perhaps get a part time job at a property management company, etc. There's a lot of way to get involved with REI without actually buying properties quite yet.

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  • Shannon Sadik
    Rochester, NY · Member since 2014 · 152 posts · 65 votes
    12y

    Kyle, I applaud you for being so forward thinking at such a young age! When I was your age, I was just trying to figure out how I was going to pay for my next meal! I think I remember you wrote in another post that you had quite a bit of money saved up? If that's the case, and if you cannot get financing (either b/c you don't have established credit or b/c you have a part time job), then you could try buying something in cash, doing owner's financing (where the seller finances the house for you, acting as the bank, this happens mostly with people who have paid off the house already, a lot of times older people), or a rent to own (but oftentimes this isn't a good value for your money so be careful and research this a lot!). 

    At your age, it would be very easy for you to rent all the rooms in your house to buddies. That way they help you pay off all the bills and hopefully you make a bit extra on top. This will give you good experience on setting boundaries and expectations on receiving rent on time, handling tenant concerns, handling deposits, etc. I would encourage you to look at the spreadsheets available on here to run numbers and see what all it entails to own a home. When I was your age, I had no idea there was so much, so this will give you a good idea of how far your money will go. I'm sure you have an idea of what students your age are willing to pay in rent so work backwards from that, figuring out exactly where your price point for everything needs to be in order to cover everything and make the house work for you. 

    Definitely use this time to work under someone and learn the business. That will be invaluable for you in the long run and makes you money now! Just call every Property Management company you can find and see if they are hiring.

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  • Kyle Alberry
    OP
    Watertown, NY · Member since 2013 · 24 posts · 3 votes
    12y

    @Rebecca Lebowitz Thank you again for replying to my post! I still remember your last post that you replied to a couple months ago, and I may take you up on the offer of meeting you! Do you know of any great FFREIA meetings that are updated on the internet? The ones I search for are usually outdated or not really in the Rochester area. Thank you very much again, it is much appreciated!

    @Shannon Sadik I do have a good chunk of change saved up, but I believe it would still be hard to get seller financing. I can definitely try! Maybe my parents would even help me out with that part. And yes I would be able to rent out the rooms pretty easy, at least for the next two years. Thank you very much for your post, it really means a lot.

    @Mark W. Thank you very much for your input, that is definitely an option that I have in my future plans. Thank you!

    Also both of you recommended that I get a part time job with a property management company, and I actually think I would like this job, so I am really going to go forward with this.

    Thanks a lot guys!

    Kyle

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  • Derek Carroll
    Syndicator and Fund Manager · Victor, NY · Member since 2012 · 760 posts · 345 votes
    11y
    My thoughts are a little more aggressive... If you find the right deal then getting the money for a flip is easy. People will either lend or partner with you or buy your contract. Go out there and get an amazing deal and then come back here to ask what to do with it!
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