All Forum Posts by: Miguel Luna

What would you do if you were 19 again? 

How would you invest?

Where would you start?

Hey, Biggerpocket members! I'm new to the community and even newer to Real Estate Investing. I took my first steps December 9, 2015 when I decided to walk into a local realtor and ask questions. They were helpful and explained everything very well and in a simple manner. I told them my plan about taking out an FHA loan and buying a duplex to establish a passive monthly income. Everything seemed to be going great until we got to the actual loan part. I don't qualify.

I have good credit (706), I have a steady part-time job making steady income, and apart from my car, the only bills I'm paying for is credit card bills. 

The reason I don't qualify is because I haven't held my part-time job long enough. Now either I could find a full-time position and save up funds from there, or I could find a cosigner to help me qualify for the loans (still needing to pay for 3.5% down and figure out closing cost). 

I'm 19 and I'm doing what I can to get started as soon as I can. Investing has always been a dream of mine. How can I make this a reality? 

Ask any questions, I will answer 

Hello BiggerPockets! I'm 19 years old and I've been interested in investing since I could remember. Making money with money, as a kid, I thought that was just crazy and I wanted to know more. Skip to now and I'm doing all this research on Real Estate Investing and I'm sitting here wondering how to get started, and I've got to say, I found myself returning to this site more and more, everyone is just so helpful! 

I decided to take a step into your world and visit a real estate agency and ask more questions and possibly develop a plan. They walked me through the process, gave me more information and basically explained everything in the simplest manner. Things got real as we headed over to the mortgage company next door, we talked about my plan about investing in a duplex home and building from there. It was all going real smoothly until I hit a small bump. My job experience. I had only been working at my current job for a year and 2 months as a part-time associate. In order to qualify for their FHA loans, I had to have at least a full-time position or have worked as part-time for at least 2 years.

Small bump in the road, but I was determined to make things work. They asked if my parents could possibly cosign and I instantly answered, "no." Being raised in a traditional Filipino family, I knew right off the bat that my parents wouldn't be supportive at all of the idea. So here are my choices: get a full-time position, save up for the 3.5% deposit, and start as soon as funds are ready, continue my work in part-time for another year while saving all I can, or find a cosigner here that can help me get started ASAP. 

I'm 19 and I know how valuable time is, but I don't want to wait till next December to start investing. Could someone possibly help kickstart my career in REI?