Should I get a full-time job or focus on finding my 1st property?

Question

Hey guys,

I’m a recent college graduate and have a degree in Graphic Design, but my priority right now is acquiring my first house-hack/rental property before the end of 2022. I am living at home right now but will be moving to Guelph, Ontario at the end of the summer (which is where I will be buying).

I truly love Graphic Design, but for the long term I see it more as a hobby/something I will do part-time and would really like real estate to my focus. I currently have 45k in savings, no debt, and my monthly expenses will be roughly $1600 once I move (I will be renting a room until I purchase my property). My question is, should I

• Get a full-time job as a Graphic Designer and just work on real estate stuff on evenings and weekends
• Get a part-time job as a Graphic designer so I can allocate more time towards real estate (networking/searching for properties, etc.)
• Find a way to use my Graphic Design skills to add value to a real estate company or individual (design for them: logo, branding, marketing material, etc.) which could possibly lead to some opportunities/learning experiences since I will be “working in the real estate field”

I’m only 23 and I feel like I have almost too many options to choose from. I’m an action taker and just want to put myself in the best position to achieve my goals which, at the moment, is acquiring my first property and developing relationships with like-minded individuals who I can provide value to and hopefully learn from.

If anyone has any advice on what they would do in my situation, or suggestions that I haven’t thought of, I would really appreciate it.

Thank you!

Scott Wolf · Answer

Meagan, as @Roy Cleeves mentioned, if you can incorporate the graphic design into a RE Job, that would be a win win. There might be brokerage firms, or large owners that have openings in marketing departments with a graphic design need.  I'd start your job search focus there.  Good luck!

Ryan Howell · Answer

Focus on growing your income at the same time and becoming the best at your job.  It may not seem to align with RE, but the skills needed to be a rock star in any industry are more similar than you think.  Use the W2 income to get your first loan on your house-hack and get the snow ball started.  Use nights and weekends to attend meetups, read books, rehab the house, etc.  Unless you're in a very unique situation, it will be very hard to use OPM with no experience and no job.  Start building your track record and relationships first.  Congrats on no debt and seeing the value of real estate.  You're way ahead of most at this stage of life!

Meagan Peters · Answer

Thanks @Scott Wolf, @Steven Wilson, @Ryan Howell, this is all really good advice! I think I can see much more clearly what my next action steps will be to put myself on the right path. I really appreciate everyone's help!!

Diana Serban · Answer

Hi! A bit of a late reply. If you can figure out creative financing, you wouldn't need an important amount of savings for a down payment. You could definitely work part time during all that.

However, if you want to use your own money, then I would recommend saving up with a full time job and then buying as many properties as you can with the least money down. Real estate growth is exponential, so getting multiple properties (or multiple doors in the same building) is ideal.

Steven Foster Wilson · Answer

Getting the full time job will make it easier for you to get more properties. When I was starting out my wife and I hustled!!! I was in school full time and doing our RE full time. She was working 2 jobs pulling 80-90 hours of work each week. If you want to make it happen then work hard. Create your core 4 where you are then if you move on or move away your business will be set up and ready to go.

Meagan Peters · Answer

Okay got it! I will do a 9-5 and do RE in the other time that I have. I appreciate the advice, I really wasn't sure (that's why I made the post), but what you're saying makes a lot of sense. Thanks!

Bruce Woodruff · Answer

I would suggest you NOT spend that $45k to just live off, it will be gone really quick and it's hard to save up that much money. You don't need to do a full-time mentoring gig. You are young and can do your 9-5 and then do your RE work.

Meagan Peters · Answer

@Bruce WoodruffThanks, that makes sense but I forgot to mention that I plan on using OPM for the purchase. I realized that prices in the GTA are relatively high and, even if I did have much more cash, it makes much more sense to try and do a JV, use hard/private money, seller financing, etc. I included my savings in the post more to reference the fact that I don't "need" to work to pay for my living expenses (in case I wanted to possibly shadow another investor or something where I would not be receiving a lot of income).

I will definitely be trying to get an off market deal, as you suggested. That is one of the reasons I was considering working only part-time, so I could allocate more time to biking around neighbourhoods and stuff.

Roy Cleeves · Answer

I believe that taking a full time job will help you finance that first property. and yes you should incorporate real estate design into you graphics business. man’s finding properties can definitely be done on evenings and weekends. mid you would like help searching in Guelph then I can recommend an investment Realtor there for you.  we can connect on that and more through the colleague request and direct messaging.

Bruce Woodruff · Answer

While $45k is a decent amount of cash, you will need more going forward. I'd stick with your day job and put away more $$. In the meantime, learn, learn, learn. Knowing more about the RE process and Construction trades will give you a huge leg up over your competition so anything you can learn is important.

Don't rely on Realtors and the MLS/Zillow/Etc....drive around neighborhoods you're interested in and ask questions, pay attention to trends. There are big advantages to buying distressed properties but they requires much more knowledge and they come with more risk, which is why you need to learn.

Should I get a full-time job or focus on finding my 1st property?

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