San Diego, CA · Member since 2018 · 46 posts · 23 votes
Hey everyone! I’ve recently been stumped on this specific concept and hoping to get a few pointers from some successors. I absolutely love the idea of buy and hold real estate investment properties but I am a 19 year old college student with low finance. I just need to know if it’s possible considering my circumstances or if I should wait. I also just started reading “investing in real estate with no and low money down” by bigget pockets and have finished other books on real estate. Very excited to continue. Should I wait? Is it not my time? Is it still possible for me to create a niche through strategy? All and any help would be greatly appreciated!
-stevie
Good on you for thinking, studying and reading about REI so young, nice work!
I don't think age is ever a factor, but knowledge and self control will dictate everything. If I were in your shoes, I'd save up as much as I can until I have around 3.5% of whatever it is I'm looking to buy (I'd suggest a duplex, or a house you can rent to a bunch of buddies and you live in one room). In my area, I could get a starter 3 Bed home for $235k and rent out each room for $750. My mortgage (Principal & Interest) + Taxes & Insurance (Read "PITI") would be about $1500 with 3.5% down, so I'd be living rent free. Roughly the same numbers for a duplex, one side pays roughly the PITI and the other side you live in for super cheap or free, maybe even get paid to live there!
Keep on reading and studying. Save money. Stay Curious.
San Diego, CA · Member since 2018 · 46 posts · 23 votes
8y
@Jim K. Thats my predicament. No way my parents would be able to lend me that kind of money but my uncle is successful in his own field and actually invests his money in other types of investments. I would just like to get his view on investing in real estate and hopefully I’d have the knowledge by then to prove to him I can find success. Thats what you mean by family, right?
San Diego, CA · Member since 2018 · 46 posts · 23 votes
8y
@Dennis M. Yeah, I agree. I could definitely be doing a lot more than ehat I‘m doing now but I’m still confused. I sometimes think that if I commit to one job, I’ll feel obligated to stay stuck in that spot. I have no problem working and stepping out of my way but (and please correct me if I’m too naive) I feel like having a job on top of school and covering multiple sources of income would limit my time on working towards those goals and studying the material. Maybe I just have a skewed perspective right now, i dont know
Flipper/Rehabber · Lakeland FL · Member since 2018 · 18 posts · 11 votes
8y
Yeah, This tactic is exactly what I did when I moved to Tampa to go to USF. It really works fantastic and is now something that is paid off. Woooohooooooooo!!
San Diego, CA · Member since 2018 · 46 posts · 23 votes
8y
@Caleb Heimsoth that’s awesome to hear. I just don’t wanna seem like I’m looking for a “get rich quick” scheme or “easy money”. The little that I know is that this isn’t an easy field but I genuinely love the concept of buy and hold. Just wish I was more informed and not sounding like an idiot. Wish you the best of luck on growing that portfolio
@Caleb Heimsoth that’s awesome to hear. I just don’t wanna seem like I’m looking for a “get rich quick” scheme or “easy money”. The little that I know is that this isn’t an easy field but I genuinely love the concept of buy and hold. Just wish I was more informed and not sounding like an idiot. Wish you the best of luck on growing that portfolio
What are you studying in school? Focus on school. Do REI after. Enjoy college.
San Diego, CA · Member since 2018 · 46 posts · 23 votes
8y
@Michael Guzik Thank you! Seriously. You make a great point and I’ve also heard it emphasized repeatedly on the fact that you will go no where relying solely on books. I did admit I haven’t taken action yet and I have no excuses. I honestly just haven’t worked towards it seriously enough but the more I dig in, the more Intrigued I become. I will definitely be looking for these events and oppurtunities and hopefully get a mentor as well
@Caleb Heimsoth I’m working towards computer science, software engineering
I studied Mech Eng and now I’m getting a masters in industrial.
Software is a great field. Study hard get good grades. You’ll have both the income and knowledge (work on knowledge now while in school) to go far in rEI once you graduate.
Call me when you’re done with school lol. I’d love to help.
Rental Property Investor · Clearwater, FL · Member since 2017 · 36 posts · 70 votes
8y
The most important thing is to learn as much as you can about real estate investing before diving in. Give it some time, read books, attend local real estate meet-ups, listen to BP podcasts, network, practice running numbers on potential deals. If you're still interested after 6-12 months, the real estate bug has got a hold of you. Then you should be ready to invest.
I purchased my first investment property when I was 20 years old and in college, so it is definitely possible and I have no regrets in getting started early, in fact, I'm very happy I did (almost 20 years later). I didn't dive in without first having a solid base of knowledge on the topic; I had been reading books and getting educated on investing in real estate since I was 15 or 16 years old.
Rental Property Investor · TX · Member since 2018 · 18 posts · 14 votes
8y
@Stevie Delacruz
I am still new myself but being only a few years out of college I might be able to relate. I’d say do some or all of the following:
1. Read everything you can get your hands on. I wish I would’ve at a younger age
2. Go to local meet ups and get involved with other investors in your area
3. Find a mentor. But don’t call them a mentor. Somebody who is experienced and find a way to add value to their business (finding deals, helping manage, help find college aged renters if that is their market, etc depending on your skill set)
4. Listen to BP podcast as much as you can
5. House hack if you can - finding a SFR or duplex/triplex/quadplex and get your friends or classmates to live with you. Can cut $600-1000 rent (local numbers) in half while building equity. Might be able to get an investor to help make this possible.
6. Work in RE somehow. Maybe work for a property management company to learn that side of business
Knowledge is huge. You don‘t know what you don’t know. I’ve definitely learned that a lot the last few months. It’s awesome that you’re starting so young! I wish I would’ve done that myself. Good luck in school and your future RE investing!
San Diego, CA · Member since 2018 · 46 posts · 23 votes
8y
@Russ Smith wow thats inspiring! Yeah I haven’t been on this subject for more than two months. In fact, creating a bigger pockets account is my first attempt to reaching out to others and getting tips and pointers. I absolutely love it but yeah, I need to give it some time to be sure if I truly enjoy this or if it’s just a temporary interest
San Diego, CA · Member since 2018 · 46 posts · 23 votes
8y
@Russ Smith my reply didn’t send. Just wanted to say how motivating that is! Im definitely gonna give it some time just to be sure I truly enjoy it and its not just some temporary interest. I will sure be gaining the knowledge and so far, I love it entirely. I’m sure I’ll appreciate the pain that comes with it
Specialist · Austin, TX · Member since 2018 · 18 posts · 6 votes
8y
@Stevie Delacruz No such thing as too young. I made my first investment (non RE) at age 8 (1998). It was wish $500 gifted to my by my grandfather, who had stock market experience and oversaw the whole thing/facilitated buys and sales. After a year of paper trading, he decided to fund me with that. I was able to make an absurd amount of money by swing trading and doing a ****-load of research an i niche, highly unusual asset class (a company that effectively had a monopoly on oddly-shaped foam pieces/packaging for computer hardware during the PC boom).
I was 8 and didn't know any better, so got out at 9 and saved it all. The only reason this worked though? That there was a more seasoned investor (my grandpa) watching my back, and it was money he could afford to lose. You can get started today by getting an education--being here is a great start--and networking like crazy while you explore your options. Maybe you can find something small that you can afford to lose in a worst-case-scenario. Run that, and the worst-case scenario, and the numbers, by a more seasoned investor with experience and documented success in the asset class. You've got nothing but time to strategize. There will be many good deals, but if I were you, I'd focus on building the education and network pieces right now, rather than hunting actively for a first deal.
That said, it's awesome to see another very young person considering RE. Sending you a request to connect. It'll be interesting to see where you go!
Hey everyone! I’ve recently been stumped on this specific concept and hoping to get a few pointers from some successors. I absolutely love the idea of buy and hold real estate investment properties but I am a 19 year old college student with low finance. I just need to know if it’s possible considering my circumstances or if I should wait. I also just started reading “investing in real estate with no and low money down” by bigget pockets and have finished other books on real estate. Very excited to continue. Should I wait? Is it not my time? Is it still possible for me to create a niche through strategy? All and any help would be greatly appreciated!
-stevie
Hey Stevie,
You're on the right track. No such thing as starting too young. Get to work, brother!
1 thing to do... LEARN HOW TO GET MONEY.
Whether it's better financing, private money, raising capital, or generating your own revenue to buy and hold with... Maybe learn all of these techniques. Actually, yes. Learn all of these techniques. You've got a lot of work to do. Start.
San Diego, CA · Member since 2018 · 46 posts · 23 votes
8y
@Caleb West Those are great pointers. I really just gotta step on it and strt looking for these local events and find oppurtunities. I never thought of working for a real estate management company but I surely want to look into that
San Diego, CA · Member since 2018 · 46 posts · 23 votes
8y
@Mary Browder wow thats amazing! I envy you starting that young with a successful relative by your side. That makes complete sense and being at a college, I presume networking must be way easier. Studying isn’t the problem for me, it’s more of getting wrong information or distorted perspectives on real estate. I believe that comes down to me choosing what to buy into. I’ll be sure to pull from as many sources as I can and talk to many different people and hopefully pull from successors as well.
San Diego, CA · Member since 2018 · 46 posts · 23 votes
8y
@Elliott Elkhoury I’ve actually never created a source of income yet to be completely honest with you so I live the fact that you pointed it out. I’m definitely gonna have to have at least SOME money and of course invest bigger as I earn bigger
Burnaby, BC · Member since 2017 · 282 posts · 268 votes
8y
The younger you start investing, the better as you have the ability to leverage time. Great on you for thinking about this so young.
In the right situation, you could do well in a no money down scenario, but typically to invest without any of your own dollars involved, you're going to borrow from a private lender at a higher rate than normal, and they would only lend to you with a high income / collateral so you already have to have money or high net worth.
I"m guessing like most students, you don't have a high paying job or a large amount of cash saved so that would be your first challenge to overcome in your journey. Personally I've never been a fan of borrowing money from friends or relatives unless I'm positive its a winner and it sounds like you're very inexperienced so you're better off reading more books before investing to save yourself from actually losing money by buying the wrong property and mismanaging your strategy.
Try to find additional ways to make money whether its starting your own business or just working another job - Once you have enough for a deposit and high enough earnings the banks will give you a mortgage to get in the game and by then hopefully you'll have put effort into studying real estate strategy so you'll do great.