House Hacking in College

[Ethan Holder]

I am in college and have been interested in eventually getting into rental properties after college. But after reading some more books on the topic I have been thinking about trying to buy a house and rent to the people I was planning on renting a house with. The problem that I have been running into as I have been looking at properties and running the number is that I won't make much money after I have paid mortgage, insurance, taxes, maintenance, etc. Is this normal while house hacking, or am I not finding good enough deals? Should I count me living there for free as getting "paid"? Should I wait until after college to get into real estate? I wasn't really expecting to make much money while living there, but I am worried about being able to save enough money to be able to pay for CapEx. when things do break. For reference I have enough money saved up to fund it for six months without tenants, and also my school is completely paid for so the majority of the money I make can go into this property.