Be careful with your investments or your windfall could vanish.If you can show sufficient w2 income (you can put up to 4 people on a mortgage), you can do a cash out refi and get ~75% of the equity today ($600k+) and maintain ownership of the property.

I made 15% on my passive stock portfolio last year and was happy to be renting temporarily from someone who is just breaking even on the condo apartment.

You can also require the tenant to pay for and maintain their own insurance.

That'd be easy to google.My overall advice would be to look for a part time job in real estate (either at an agency, analyst intern, mortgage co, etc) while you're a student and if you really want to invest in RE at this point, do it through a REIT or some publically traded company like CapitaLand (an example, not my stock pick) until you have a bit more saved.

I am really looking at the advantages of being able to look at property more quickly and write my own offers.I know there are costs involved with getting and maintaining the license.  

I am really looking at the advantages of being able to look at property more quickly and write my own offers.I know there are costs involved with getting and maintaining the license.

Appreciation is like the stock market.

They have to maintain records, do reports to the group, shop for things like insurance, work with accountant to complete tax returns, etc.  

Really cheap beaters can be great if you can maintain them and if you don't need to rely on them to go really far. 

To wit: this isn't exactly a neglected home in flyover country you are just now buying today at a low full retail price because the local economy is so depressed that no one can afford to own (or maintain) a house...