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Jack Budd
  • New to Real Estate
  • Whittier, CA
17
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33
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19 year old looking to get into real estate

Jack Budd
  • New to Real Estate
  • Whittier, CA
Posted Aug 1 2020, 07:39

I am a 19 year old going into my sophomore year of college as a business major (general right now but might narrow down to finance or something). As a result of scholarships I will have no college debt to pay off. I have a dream of buying and flipping houses in the near future and investing in real estate property and would like to househack. I currently have a summer job where I have saved just over $6000 where I have slowly started injecting into various etfs. I plan to withdraw at least some of this money in the near future to help me in real estate. I figured I would try to accumulate at least some interest rather than just let it sit in my bank account for the next few years. My uncle is a successful real estate flipper and investor and I plan to apprentice for him possibly next summer offering him free labor and whatever else in exchange for a better understanding of the business. I have started listening to bigger pockets podcast and reading books to “invest in myself.” I would love to hear any feedback people can give me for my plan.

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Dave G.
  • Investor
  • Phoenix, AZ
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Dave G.
  • Investor
  • Phoenix, AZ
Replied Aug 1 2020, 09:07

@Jack Budd Congrats on being financially responsible with your college expenses and pursuing a degree that the market will value vs a stupid history or English major. Speaking of your major, I would recommend Finance or Supply Chain. I am a program manager for a large aerospace company and we are constantly looking for good finance majors and always short good supply chain folks. Every business needs finance people, and almost every business has a supply chain that needs to be managed. 

In terms of your real estate investment plan, sounds pretty good to me. Do the apprenticeship and be a sponge, learn every last thing you can from your uncle. We all should be so lucky to have a close successful relative that could have mentored us at a young age. Don't rush the learning process, listen to your uncle's dos and donts. I think long term, you'll want to be a buy/hold investor. I know of no persons on the Forbes 400 list that made their billions flipping homes. Use that as your day job and accumulate rentals over time. You might want to do the BRRRR method which there is lots info described on this site.

You have not indicated what state you're in. I would highly suggest that as you graduate you consider moving to a business-friendly state that has a net in-flow of resident from a solid local economy and job growth. Do this before you get married and have kids etc since it will be hard to move later with that kind of baggage. My undergrad diploma ink was still wet when I bugged out leaving Chicago for AZ many years ago. I did it for other reasons than I list above, but am lucky that AZ has the booming job market and population in-flow driving my property values and rents at nation-leading growth rates. Choose a place like this to invest. Places not to invest are obvious, just look at the news, state financial health, tax rates and leadership. Top 3 places to avoid IMO, Califorinia, New York and Illinois. There are more but those places are cesspools. And with COVID driving a nation-wide experiment that has essentially proved the effectiveness of telecommuting / working remotely, you'll see a reduced demand in expensive and population-dense locations as many professionals will no longer be anchored to where their employer's office building is. 

Good luck in your pursuits.

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Bryan Noth
  • Realtor and Investor
  • Austin, TX
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Bryan Noth
  • Realtor and Investor
  • Austin, TX
Replied Aug 1 2020, 09:09

@Jack Budd sounds like a great plan.  Learning from your uncle an experienced flipper to learn the trade even if it means less pay - you have realistic expectations for your vision.  I would absolutely encourage exploring podcasts/forums/books to continue that education.  Good luck!

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Rowan Shelly
  • Flipper/Rehabber
  • Lancaster County, PA
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10
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Rowan Shelly
  • Flipper/Rehabber
  • Lancaster County, PA
Replied Aug 2 2020, 09:26

This looks like a great plan to me! You've been doing a lot to prepare yourself for the future deals. Depending on how your uncle structures his deals you might be able to invest some of your money (at a slightly lower interest rate than hard loans and other financing) and earn more savings until you buy your own deals. I'm not certain what you're getting on your money at the moment, but it's an idea that might be with exploring. I can't wait to see your future progress!

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Crystal Smith
  • Real Estate Broker
  • Chicago, IL
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Crystal Smith
  • Real Estate Broker
  • Chicago, IL
ModeratorReplied Aug 5 2020, 16:27
Originally posted by @Jack Budd:

I am a 19 year old going into my sophomore year of college as a business major (general right now but might narrow down to finance or something). As a result of scholarships I will have no college debt to pay off. I have a dream of buying and flipping houses in the near future and investing in real estate property and would like to househack. I currently have a summer job where I have saved just over $6000 where I have slowly started injecting into various etfs. I plan to withdraw at least some of this money in the near future to help me in real estate. I figured I would try to accumulate at least some interest rather than just let it sit in my bank account for the next few years. My uncle is a successful real estate flipper and investor and I plan to apprentice for him possibly next summer offering him free labor and whatever else in exchange for a better understanding of the business. I have started listening to bigger pockets podcast and reading books to “invest in myself.” I would love to hear any feedback people can give me for my plan.

Wonderful plan.  Pick up the Book "Rich Dad-Poor Dad" Then buy & play the Cashflow Board Game with your friends and family.

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Jack Budd
  • New to Real Estate
  • Whittier, CA
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33
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Jack Budd
  • New to Real Estate
  • Whittier, CA
Replied Aug 5 2020, 16:47

@Crystal Smith reading it right now 😁. Thank you!

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33
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Jack Budd
  • New to Real Estate
  • Whittier, CA
17
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33
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Jack Budd
  • New to Real Estate
  • Whittier, CA
Replied Aug 5 2020, 17:16

@Rowan Shelly Thank you so much! I really appreciate it!

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33
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Jack Budd
  • New to Real Estate
  • Whittier, CA
17
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33
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Jack Budd
  • New to Real Estate
  • Whittier, CA
Replied Aug 5 2020, 17:16

@Dave G. Thank you so much for your response! This is beyond helpful.

User Stats

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Jack Budd
  • New to Real Estate
  • Whittier, CA
17
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33
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Jack Budd
  • New to Real Estate
  • Whittier, CA
Replied Aug 5 2020, 17:17

@Bryan Noth Thank you so much!

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Cordell Martin
Pro Member
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Cordell Martin
Pro Member
Replied Aug 5 2020, 17:34

Sounds very solid...far ahead of where many are at that point.  Best of luck!

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Peyton Griffin
Pro Member
  • Investor
  • Chicago Suburbs
3
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8
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Peyton Griffin
Pro Member
  • Investor
  • Chicago Suburbs
Replied Aug 5 2020, 17:53

@Jack Budd Always good to see people around my age jumping into real estate as well (I'm 22). I just graduated college back in May and got my first corporate job. I have been actively looking into house hacking within in the next few months, I just need to find a deal at this point. If you ever want to just talk about anything real estate related feel free to reach out to me, I'm always looking to meet new people!

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Jack Budd
  • New to Real Estate
  • Whittier, CA
17
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33
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Jack Budd
  • New to Real Estate
  • Whittier, CA
Replied Aug 5 2020, 18:10

@Peyton Griffin Thats awesome Peyton! Congrats on everything so far and best of luck going forward. I only recently got heavily interested in real estate and would love to talk about it