Starting out (UNIQUE) :Excepting advice from anyone and everyone.

Starting Out
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Starting out (UNIQUE) :Excepting advice from anyone and everyone.

Liam Nichols
Member since 2021 · 4 posts · 1 vote

Hello, My name is Liam Nichols. I am a 17 year old future real estate investor with lots of options. I am fairly educated in real estate. I have read multiple real estate related books, and I am an avid listener to the Bigger Pockets podcast. I am also a close with a successful full-time real estate investor who I have spent time working for as a contractor, which has taught me a lot. The best way to describe myself is driven. 

Here is my situation: My goal is to be a full time real estate investor by the time I'm out of college. So in approximately 5 years I want to to be living off of cashflow. I will be taking a gap year in between high school and college, so I will be staying with my parents. Which means that I will have more than a year to work, and raise capital for future investing. My college will be paid for by scholarships and my family's college fund.( I will not be paying for college which I am extremely grateful for). Through my years of college I will start building my portfolio. 

Here are my questions: What general advice would you give me? What specific advice would you give me? What state/city or area should I go to college near for the best chance of success? Any Life/Non-Real estate advice? 

Thanks to everyone who leaves there 2 Cents. 

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Ryan ThomsonBusiness Member
Real Estate Agent · Colorado Springs, CO · Member since 2018 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
4y

@Liam Nichols it sounds like you are very driven and I wish I was thinking like you at 17! Here is an interesting idea. Use your knowledge and drive to convince your parents 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 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. 

The Assumable Guy544 Reviews
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  • Patrick DruryBusiness Member
    Real Estate Agent · Columbus, OH & Cleveland OH · Member since 2021 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    4y

    @Liam Nichols
    Definitely start young and it will snowball from there. Also, at the end of the day, no amount of books and podcasts can teach you the real experiences of getting in the trenches and dealing with problems that get thrown your way. 

    [email protected]614-412-4565
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  • Joshua JanusBusiness Member
    Realtor · Cleveland, OH · Member since 2021 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    4y

    If you want to house hack, make sure to have 2 consecutive years of tax returns so you can qualify if you are self employed. I am not a tax professional and this isn't advice, it's just a problem I ran into. I was forced to delay my house hack a year due to this. Do whatever you can to build your credit, employment history and savings. All of these factors will pay off disproportionately over time compared to what it took to get them and is worth the time. Do you have any friends, family or a potential mentor that are involved in real estate in any way? Finding a mentor, doing some cold calling or just being around those will give you some better experience than just books which are great but not all that is necessary. 

    [email protected]614-502-5316Podcast Guest on Show From DoorDasher to $1.5 MILLION in Real Estate (All at 22 Years Old!)
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  • Dan SheeksPro Member
    Rental Property Investor · Denver, CO · Member since 2016 · 621 posts · 362 votes
    4y

    Hey @Liam Nichols Here's a book just released by Bigger Pockets that you should read. www.biggerpockets.com/teen 

    [email protected]Podcast Guest on Show #179
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  • Ryan ThomsonBusiness Member
    Real Estate Agent · Colorado Springs, CO · Member since 2018 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    4y

    @Liam Nichols it sounds like you are very driven and I wish I was thinking like you at 17! Here is an interesting idea. Use your knowledge and drive to convince your parents 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 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. 

    The Assumable Guy544 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    1Reply
  • Liam Nichols
    OP
    Member since 2021 · 4 posts · 1 vote
    4y

    Thanks for the insight, I really do appreciate it. I definitely am going to house hack during college. You said to partner with my parents. I actually don't have financially savvy parents, they are actually a lot like the "poor dad" from Rich Dad Poor Dad. My college is being paid for by my grandparents. That being said I plan to stay in my dorm which will be paid for and buy a rental property while I'm in my dorm. I read your advice for buying a property. You said that for my first buy I should House hack and make it MY primary residence for a lower down payment.(FHA?) I cant do this while living In a dorm right? Do you suggest that I buy my first property and still live in my dorm for free rent or wait and have my first buy be that House hacked Primary residence, Or something different than what I said.

    Let me know what you think about this. During my first year of college. I would like to purchase a short term rental/vacation home near my college and airbnb it out for high cashflow. Then after my first year I would like to buy another property ( multifamily, single family something like that) and house hack that. While continuing to have the first property. Then I will just keep the ball rolling from there. 

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