Incoming dental student - hopeful investor

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Incoming dental student - hopeful investor

Ethan Brown
Member since 2021 · 5 posts · 2 votes

A little information about me, I am a incoming dental student and looking to start investing in real estate. I have been out of school for a couple years and have built a decent sum of funds to contribute to this unless I end up deciding to hold off. I have put down a deposit for Creighton in Omaha, Nebraska. I had a late interview with Minnesota which is located in Minneapolis. Unless granted acceptance to MN, I will attend Creighton. 
I am interested in getting started by doing the standard house hacking technique. I know you have to learn the market, crunch the numbers, and find a property that will work. Was just wondering if others have had experience with investing in real estate while in grad school? Is it smart? I like the idea of house hacking because it has the potential to decrease my living expenses while learning the fundamentals of this type of investing. I do have family members in the real estate business so I have mentors in that way and they may potentially go in on this with me. I don’t want to 100% jump into real estate and focus on that  hence why I am pursuing dentistry, but I do like the idea of eventually having a few properties to have that additional income and contribute to to retirement.

Maybe I’m crazy but any insight would be greatly appreciated!

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Grace Wang
Realtor · Denver, CO · Member since 2018 · 227 posts · 241 votes
5y

Hey @Ethan Brown, house hack where you end up going to dental school! If I were you I'd rent the bedrooms out to your fellow dentistry classmates and hold epic study sessions. I'm not familiar with those markets you mentioned, but generally speaking, renting out a bedroom is WAY more affordable than renting out an apartment. If you're able to purchase a turnkey place with a decent bedroom-to-bathroom ratio, you'll really have a win-win situation. 

To become more familiar with your market, find some investor-friendly agents and ask them which areas are best to invest in. You should also ask if they have other clients house hacking/investing and ask about the successes in which those clients have had.  If possible, use an agent that also invests themself! Once you feel confident in the market, start house hacking. You'll be glad you did, as it will help you get into the real estate game, save on living expenses (and pay off dental school?!?), and contribute to retirement. 

Message me if you have any questions and i can help as best I can. Hope this helps!

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  • Grace Wang
    Realtor · Denver, CO · Member since 2018 · 227 posts · 241 votes
    5y

    Hey @Ethan Brown, house hack where you end up going to dental school! If I were you I'd rent the bedrooms out to your fellow dentistry classmates and hold epic study sessions. I'm not familiar with those markets you mentioned, but generally speaking, renting out a bedroom is WAY more affordable than renting out an apartment. If you're able to purchase a turnkey place with a decent bedroom-to-bathroom ratio, you'll really have a win-win situation. 

    To become more familiar with your market, find some investor-friendly agents and ask them which areas are best to invest in. You should also ask if they have other clients house hacking/investing and ask about the successes in which those clients have had.  If possible, use an agent that also invests themself! Once you feel confident in the market, start house hacking. You'll be glad you did, as it will help you get into the real estate game, save on living expenses (and pay off dental school?!?), and contribute to retirement. 

    Message me if you have any questions and i can help as best I can. Hope this helps!

    5Reply
  • Dennis Tierney
    Investor · Omaha, NE · Member since 2011 · 475 posts · 211 votes
    5y

    @Ethan Brown Congrats on Dental school. I would strongly recommend looking at Whitecoatinvestor.com. It's a great resource for financial wisdom. They generally don't recommend buying a house for such a short time but using it as a house hack is a different story and quite doable. If you decide on Omaha let me know as I have good single family agent contacts that could help you find the house. 

    2Reply
  • Ethan Brown
    OP
    Member since 2021 · 5 posts · 2 votes
    5y

    Thanks for the input! Definitely have been looking at realtor.com and Zillow to see if there are any good options.. I’ve seen a few houses that I think could work a great and recently renovated so they wouldn’t require much work.. but will keep you in the loop and possibly reach out within a month or so if I figure out where school will take me. My sister is a realtor in Mn and my brother owns a few properties that he has flipped and rented so I’m not totally alone in doing this. Appreciate everything!

    0Reply
  • Lawrence Dy
    Real Estate Agent · San Diego, CA · Member since 2020 · 41 posts · 30 votes
    5y

    Hi Ethan, I actually have a friend that did something similar while going to school at the Mayo clinic and it worked out well for him. It sounds like you have a lot of great resources around you to help you make a smart decision locally. 

    I think all the advice that @Grace Wang was very solid and I would just add that you just really make sure to really do your homework and evaluate all worst-case scenarios before making the leap since you are still a student. As they say "protect the downside and the upside will take care of itself." 

    Also, if you intend to rent rooms to friends and classmates, you may want to start networking and accumulating potential roommates prior to closing so you can hit the ground running. This will also give you an opportunity to see how much they would be willing to pay in rent so you can better do your calculations. Best of luck!

    2Reply
  • Ethan Brown
    OP
    Member since 2021 · 5 posts · 2 votes
    5y

    @Lawrence Dy absolutely! Appreciate it! Also I know am some admissions committees are willing to work with students who are looking to find some roommates  so that could be an option as well. Hopefully within the next month I’ll know where I’ll be and I can start planning for the fall.

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  • Jonathan GreeneBusiness Member
    Real Estate Consultant · Madison, NJ · Member since 2016 · 6k+ posts · 7k+ votes
    5y

    @Grace Wang hit it all for you, listen to that. You have a built-in pool of reliable renters for your other rooms/units at your fingertips. You honestly could probably make more money if you buy a single-family and room share with other students in your program. Your buy-in will be less, but your privacy will be less also. You want to find an investor-friendly agent who also invests and understands exactly what you want.

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  • Amber Gonion
    Real Estate Broker · Hugo, MN · Member since 2016 · 688 posts · 596 votes
    5y

    @Ethan Brown great plan, lowering costs and building equity for your future. My dad graduated from the U of M as a dentist. He didn’t invest at that time (much later) but wished he would have.

    1Reply
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