All Forum Posts by: Liam Spears

Oh and go get em, and don't listen to people who are NOT in the game! 

@Liam Spears sometimes they're able to find products that can meet your situation. FHA is friendly towards first time home buyers, sometimes lenders will have in-house products that can help out. They're basically trying to find a loan that fits your situation. Rapport may help build a good relationship but I don't believe it'll directly correlate to getting a better loan.

@Liam Spears it sounds like you are very driven and I wish I was thinking like you in college! Here is an interesting idea. Use your knowledge and drive to convince your parents (or investor) to get a home near your college. Co-sign with them and put some money down with them if you can.

Buy it as YOUR primary residence with your parents (or investors) as the co-signers. This would allow you and your parents to only have to put 3.5-5% down. Then you rent out the rooms to your college friends. This will probably allow you to live for free and your parents to avoid a dorm or expensive home payment while you are in college. Not to mention you can both cash in on appreciation and loan paydown.

If you really wanted to scale, you could do this each year. Rent out the last house to a new group and move with your friends to the next house. This is a great way to scale and you only have to put 5% down if its your primary residence each time.

You obviously need to convince your parents or (someone who would co-sign and help with the downpayment) about how good of an idea this is. But if they are savvy money people and they trust you (which I bet the do), then this seems very doable.

I understand the zeal and eagerness to get a property under your belt, but slow and steady still wins the race. You also need some money or expertise to get someone else to write a check. The only guarantee when buying a property is that you are going to spend money immediately after purchasing. Outside of a rich uncle that just wants to help you out, you likely don't want to partner with the kind of person that would take on a college kid with no experience or money as a partner. It's like the old Yogi Berra quote - I'd never want to be part of a club that accepted me as a member. Someone with options would partner with an operator that has some experience or domain expertise. 

As for now, work your a$$ off, live off of nothing, save as much as possible, and try to get the absolute best W2 income possible upon graduation. Investing (and life for that matter) is a game of long term thinking and delayed gratification. Your investing journey is probably going to start with a house hack post graduation - focus on that and have some patience. 

Even though I've come across as a bit of a dark cloud, I'd be happy to answer any questions or have a conversation if you think that I'd be a good resource.

 Would recommend connecting with @River Sava!

@Liam Spears,

Congratulations on the early start! I wish I had started as young as you are.

I agree, if you’re going in to a house hack, you only need 3-5% down. Some times you can even get in with 0% down. But the issue would be no W2. Depending on your lender you may be able to get preapproval once you start your new job without having to wait a couple months to a year.

You can connect with a lender and they’ll help you map out what to do financially to help build a strong application.

I'd go to any and all local REI groups as possible and connect with as many people there. Ask them questions. Here their stories. See what they are needing or are looking for and see what you can do to help them out. Even if it's just making phone calls for them, there's a lot to learn that'll benefit you for the future.

Hey Liam, 

I was in your place a few years ago. I caught the real estate bug from a college roommate my sophomore year and dove into reading and listening to everything about real estate. For your beginning steps you can start taking action with would be to analyze properties on the MLS DAILY. Most banks, especially when you're just starting out with little to no income may require 20% upfront and may even need someone to cosign for you with a conventional loan. Now, as you mentioned, househacking could lower your down payment(3.5%) as well as your monthly expenses if you find solid tenants/friends to live with you.

How I got started was through getting to understand my market by looking at what properties are going for as well as what the average rent is. Factor these numbers into your monthly PITI payments amongst other costs (insurance, taxes, CAPEX, vacancy, etc) and run those numbers through a calculator on BP or make your own spreadsheet to see if you will cashflow monthly. Even if you aren't cashflowing, you still would have a property that you are paying less for (through renting it out) and getting into it at a much lower upfront cost.

Another thing you could be doing would be talking with a realtor. They have access to the MLS and can get you on an email list that can notify you immediately when a property that meets your criteria hits the market. Part of finding what exactly your criteria is would be how much you are able to spend so it wouldn't hurt to talk to a lender to get pre-approved as well!

Go to meetups. With such a populated area like Charlottesville, there have got to be real estate investor meetups where you can network with some big hitters in the industry. You can find a lot of these meetups through Facebook groups. These groups are great to be a part of for the ability to ask specific questions about issues you are facing because chances are, many others have faced the same. 

You are starting earlier than me and I started fairly early. If I were in your shoes right now, I would spend the next few months saving, planning, and networking to find a property close to campus (SFH or multifamily) where you and a couple of buddies could live while you finish your degree. Also, do not buy a deal for the sake of buying a deal. Make sure the numbers work!

I hope this info helps. This is from an outside perspective looking in so conduct your own due diligence and analysis to make sure it works for you. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out. I have a couple of properties so I am no expert but I do have some experience!

Goodluck man!