First investment property

Member since 2026 · 1 post · 4 votes

Im 29, run a landscaping business and looking to buy my first investment property. What would you do at 29 years old with $25,000 saved up and looking to get into real estate while still living with parents?

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Michael Dumler

Real Estate Agent · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2020 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes

2mo

@Adalid Aparicio Cespedes, for someone brand new to real estate and in your position, house hacking is without question your best entry point — and also the best way to mitigate risk. That said, based on what you've shared, I think you need to save more before pulling the trigger on a purchase. Yes, there are loan products that let you go as low as 3-5% down, but when you factor in closing costs and — more importantly — having healthy reserves, you're cutting it pretty close on a hypothetical $300k purchase.

For now, focus on increasing your savings rate while simultaneously educating yourself on deal analysis and underwriting. Two books I'd recommend: The House Hacking Strategy by Craig Curelop and Real Estate by the Numbers by J. Scott and Dave Meyer.

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Michael Dumler
Real Estate Agent · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2020 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
2mo
@Adalid Aparicio Cespedes, for someone brand new to real estate and in your position, house hacking is without question your best entry point — and also the best way to mitigate risk. That said, based on what you've shared, I think you need to save more before pulling the trigger on a purchase. Yes, there are loan products that let you go as low as 3-5% down, but when you factor in closing costs and — more importantly — having healthy reserves, you're cutting it pretty close on a hypothetical $300k purchase.

For now, focus on increasing your savings rate while simultaneously educating yourself on deal analysis and underwriting. Two books I'd recommend: The House Hacking Strategy by Craig Curelop and Real Estate by the Numbers by J. Scott and Dave Meyer.
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Arman AhmedPro Member
Real Estate Agent · Columbus Cleveland Dayton, OH · Member since 2024 · 2k+ posts · 969 votes
2mo
Quote from @Adalid Aparicio Cespedes:

Im 29, run a landscaping business and looking to buy my first investment property. What would you do at 29 years old with $25,000 saved up and looking to get into real estate while still living with parents?

At 29 with $25K saved and low living expenses, you're actually in a great position to get started. I'd focus less on finding the perfect property and more on getting into a deal you can comfortably manage, whether that's a house hack, BRRRR, or a small rental. Don't overlook the Midwest either; the Midwest markets can offer much lower entry points than Atlanta, and with the right local team, you can invest out of state without doing everything yourself. Keep plenty of reserves and don't put every dollar into the first deal.
[email protected]614-418-6081
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Aaron ZimmermanBusiness Member
Accountant · Chicago, IL · Member since 2018 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
2mo
House hack but I'd save more especially with you owning a business too
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Stephen QuesinberryBusiness Member
Real Estate Agent · Cumming, GA · Member since 2016 · 229 posts · 157 votes
2mo
Adalid, with $25k and a landscaping business, a house hack is the realistic first move in metro Atlanta. A north-side SFR that actually rents is usually in the high $200s to $300s, and $25k disappears once you add closing costs, a few months of reserves, and whatever the house needs on day one. Living in one bedroom or one side and renting the rest is how a lot of people here get the first door without stretching the cash.
I would stay out of the trophy zip codes and look at a 3/2 or a small 2–4 in the suburbs, not inside the perimeter. Run the rent against the payment the way you would a 1% screen even if you never quite hit it. If the only way it works is hoping the house goes up, that is a harder first deal than it looks.
Save a little more if you can before you write an offer. The people who get hurt on deal one around here are usually the ones who put every dollar into the down payment and have nothing left when the HVAC goes.
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Brook Janis
Lender · Metro Detroit · Member since 2024 · 24 posts · 7 votes
2mo
I’d say house hacking is absolutely the way to go if you’re comfortable with it. Living in one unit of a multifamily property while renting out the others can be a great way to get started.

That said, if you don’t want to house hack, I completely understand. As a young investor myself, I knew I didn’t want to live that close to my tenants.

In that situation, I’d look into investor financing. It can cost a little more than traditional financing, but it can also provide more flexibility and, depending on the program, may not impact your personal debt-to-income ratio the same way a conventional mortgage would.

Since you’re self-employed, I’d especially consider this strategy. The goal is to preserve your personal borrowing capacity so you can still qualify for your own traditional home down the road, while using investor financing to build your rental portfolio.
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Mohammed Rahman
Real Estate Broker · New York, NY · Member since 2020 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
2mo
Hey Adalid,
At 29 with $25K saved, a landscaping business, and low living expenses, you actually have a solid foundation to get started. I'd focus on using your existing skills and connections as an advantage rather than trying to find the perfect market or deal right away.

House hacking could be worth exploring if you're open to moving into the property, especially since it can lower your housing costs while giving you experience as a landlord. I'd also look at smaller value-add properties where your landscaping background could help you improve the property without taking on unnecessary risk.

Most importantly, don't feel like you need to put every dollar into the first deal. Keep a healthy reserve and make sure the numbers work even when things don't go exactly according to plan.

You're in a good position to start building toward something bigger. All the best! Feel free to reach out. I'm always happy to help in any way I can.
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Caleb Brown
Real Estate Agent · Kansas City · Member since 2018 · 5k+ posts · 3k+ votes
2mo
House hacking. In my area you can tackle a duplex that's 250-300K. After a year move out and repeat. You can also purchase a SFH in the 100-150K, do some light rehab and rent. Owner occupy as you rehab
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Jimmy LieuBusiness Member
Real Estate Agent · Columbus, OH · Member since 2019 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
2mo
Quote from @Adalid Aparicio Cespedes:

Im 29, run a landscaping business and looking to buy my first investment property. What would you do at 29 years old with $25,000 saved up and looking to get into real estate while still living with parents?
Welcome to the community, Adalid! If I were 29, living with my parents, running a business, and had $25K saved, I’d seriously look at house hacking for my first deal. Instead of using most of that cash as a down payment on a traditional rental, I’d explore buying a duplex, triplex, fourplex, or even a single-family home where I could rent out bedrooms while living there. Owner-occupied financing can require significantly less money down than a traditional investment loan, which lets you keep more of that $25K available for closing costs, repairs, vacancies, and emergencies. I’d also be careful not to rush just because the money is available. Start talking with lenders, figure out what you actually qualify for as a business owner, learn how to analyze cash flow, and underwrite a bunch of properties before buying. Your landscaping background could also be a nice advantage since you already understand property maintenance and probably have relationships with other trades. The first deal doesn’t need to be a home run; I’d focus on buying something financially manageable that teaches you the business and gives you a foundation for deal #2. Happy to connect and answer any questions you have!
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Drew SygitBusiness Member
Property Manager · Royal Oak, MI · Member since 2012 · 13k+ posts · 9k+ votes
2mo
If I was starting out again with what I know now, I'd look to acquire a 2-4 unit property with an FHA 3.5% low-down payment mortgage.
I'd also look into using an FHA 203k renovation loan, allowing me to buy something ugly, thus unqualified for a standard mortgage, which would weed out a lot of competition and push the price lower.
To maximize my cashflow and gain landlording experience, I'd do STR and MTR in the other units, as well as the other bedrooms in my unit.
Since most cities won’t allow basement rental units, I’d consider finishing the basement, just well enough for me to live down there (cities don’t care if owner chooses to live in basement), so I could rent out ALL the units/rooms.
I'd save all my cash and look to refi the property in 1-2 years out of the FHA mortgage, so I could use it again if necessary. Depending on how close I was to having 20% equity in the property and being able to avoid PMI, I'd consider using some of my cash to pay down the mortgage when I refinanced. Otherwise, I'd save my cash for the next acquisition.
I’d also be posting on every social media platform and telling everyone I knew that I was looking for more real estate deals. I’d aim for low downpayment land contracts and lease options.
After refinancing out of the FHA mortgage, I'd evaluate if I wanted to repeat the 2-4 unit FHA 203(k) process again or if I had the 20% down to target 5+ units.
While still living in the property, AFTER the refi out of the FHA mortgage, I'd also explore securing a HELOC to tap my equity for emergencies.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do!
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Wale LawalBusiness Member
Real Estate Broker · Houston | Dallas | Austin, TX · Member since 2018 · 5k+ posts · 2k+ votes
2mo
@Adalid Aparicio Cespedes
Given my age of 29, savings of $25K, and inexpensive cost of living, I would concentrate on making sure that I get myself into an investment that adds up mathematically. Provided you are comfortable with it, a house-hack or multifamily would be a good step to start with.
Good luck!
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Ryan SpathBusiness Member
Real Estate Agent · Boise, ID · Member since 2017 · 598 posts · 382 votes
2mo
Way to start thinking of this at an early age. To have a do-over I would leverage an FHA loan to buy a small multifamily property. I would likely mid term furnished / short term the half i was not living in to generate the most revenue. I would likely also rent a room in the unit i was living in. I would keep rinsing and repeating this with lower down payment options to accumulate 10 properties on conventional financing. I would do my best to keep lifestyle creek at a minimium while at the same time gaining new skills and abilities to generate more income and make myself more valuable in the workforce. I would consider hiring a coach or join a high level group and learn how to market my landscaping business and turn it into that a true "business" one that I ran and delt with the customer side not the work side, I would have a goal of X in EBITA over the 10 year period I was also getting the 10 properties, I would pull my head up be 39 years old, have 10 properties ~20 doors and I would sell my landscaping business that I have grown to ~500k+ for 2.5-3x and try to get as close to 1.5 MM as possible for this. Now I would have a baseline of wealth, I would look at my entire portfolio and see how much passive income my RE was generating, take a QTR off and decide how I wanted to spend my time on what really matters to me.........get after it!
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