Got a prequal !! Now what ?

[Nick Loukas]

Hello Bigger pockets community , my name is Nick and I'm looking to embark upon my first real estate purchase within the next few months. I'd love to house hack and find a duplex in the Lehigh Valley area but there just doesn't seem to be a lot in my market right now. I currently rent and I'm thinking about just purchasing a modest single family around 150k in a good neighborhood and fix it up a bit to increase its value and then sell but I'm not sure if it's the best move at this time. I'm having trouble coming up with a game plan because my end goal is to have enough buy and hold rentals to earn enough passive income to live off of. Should I just continue renting and purchase a rental property first or pull the trigger on my first home? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm still learning about the real estate game !

[Jeff Stephens]

Nick, congrats on getting started! It sounds like you're diving into education, and looking to take action--that's the recipe for success, so way to go!  In my own experience and opinion, I'd say that the sooner you take action and buy a property, the better. I bought my first house--a primary residence for my wife and I--when I was 24, and I'm glad I got started that early. Looking back on it, planting that seed as early as I possibly could has really paid off, and has been a critical catalyst in helping me develop a financial life.  

At this point, here's my take:  having the right game plan is great...but it's irrelevant until you are actually IN the game. I support the idea of you buying yourself a small house to live and fix up, and go from there.  I also like the duplex house hack plan, too, and would encourage you to keep looking for that IN ADDITION to finding a single family deal for your primary residence in the meantime.  

Lastly, not to be off-topic, but when I hear you say "there doesn't seem to be a lot [of duplexes] in my market right now," I feel compelled to chime in. There may not be a lot of listed properties available now.  But everything is for sale :) So get out there and talk to some off-market duplex owners.

Good luck, Nick!