Recommendations for the newbie

[Mark Andrew Deidiker]

I am seeking knowledge. Based on my question I would be happy with book recommendations more than anything. I love reading. 

Anyways, I would like to eventually buy a property that I could rent out. I am looking for the best options to start out. Such as maybe buying an inexpensive apartment for maybe 30k. I would assume that a 4-plex is the best option starting out, but at the moment my income is low. I still have about 3 years of college left. So do you think maybe I should just wait until I am finished with college? Also would getting maybe a 10k car loan while I am in college to build my credit up until my income is higher is a better option? 

Budget:

Income-$1000 after taxes every month

Rent:$200

Food: $200

Whatever: $100

Savings: $500

Soon I need to buy a car. Not sure if that is going to be a loan or a crappy car from craigslist, but I live in Arizona and this nice weather is about to be over. 

Thanks,

Mark

[Joshua Feit]

Hello @Mark Andrew Deidiker. Oh, how I wish I had the wisdom to begin investing when I was in college. I am a newer buy/hold investor in the Atlanta market with just one year of experience under my belt, so please take my advice lightly.

We are always hearing about "house hacking" from Brandon on the BP podcast (which is an amazing source of information, if you haven't been turned on to that yet...), and I wonder if that might be a fit for you.

You could buy a little duplex, live in half and rent out the other half. Or, you could even buy a three or four bedroom single-family home and rent out the spare bedrooms to fellow college students. I did not get my start this way, but I understand this to be a simple, straightforward method for launching into RE investing. If you take this approach, you will learn a lot about land lording, and you will also likely be able to live for free as your housemates pay for your mortgage.

What do you think?

I wish you all the best with your real estate ventures. Cheers!