My First Post on Bigger Pockets

[Beau Johnston]

Hello Bigger Pockets forums. My name is Beau and I'm a 4th year at the University of San Diego pursuing a BBA in Real Estate and a minor in Architecture. I just finished episode 25 on the podcast and felt the need to reach out and ask for help as I am going to be part of the "real world" soon. As of now, I have a couple of real estate mentors and I am still narrowing down the specific path I would like to take in the industry. With a BBA in Real Estate, many students work for big commercial firms such as CBRE, and I am looking into doing the same, however, my ears and heart are open to any opinions/ideas from the various real estate professionals using this website. Residential brokerage, commercial brokerage, and development are all very intriguing paths. One thing I am sure of is that I am going to invest in real estate as soon as I have saved enough for a down payment.

I'm 21 years old, I'm excited to own property, and I want to start as soon as possible. Please leave any suggestions or even reach out to me for coffee (I reside in San Diego) if you would like to chat in person.  

[Dan H.]

My suggestion is you use FHA high LTV loan to purchase and house hack a detached duplex that is in need of some TLC. TC = value add. Duplex because FHA counts rental income of the 2nd unit towards DYI thresholds. high LTV FHA loan so you can start as soon as possible. At 96.5% LTV $17.5 k would allow purchase of $500k property. Note in many working class areas of San Diego that is about were a duplex in poor shape is priced.

Good luck