High School Student in Expensive Area

[Abraham Alemnew]

I am an 18 year old in High school and I live in the Bay Area. I want to house hack & co live, but with all houses around me being 1M+ there is just no way. I considered long distance investing, but I would have to either move and find a college in the place I would be investing, or not house hack, which I am fine with doing, but I would need to learn how to do long distance. I put David Greene's book on long distance investing on hold and should get it in the next 2 weeks from my local library . I work at a gas station for $14/hr and I have $3,000 in my bank account. I do not believe my dad can finally help me on this journey, but I have a burning passion to get into real estate. Thanks for Reading this message and for any information you give to me. 

[Chace Fraser]

@Abraham Alemnew Welcome to the BP community. Just by joining you are taking the first step to financial freedom. @Joshua Janus made 3 awesome points!

First off, you will need to decide on your ultimate goal for investing in real estate (house hacking VS out of state investing) and then determine how you want to get involved/start. Do you want to be an agent, a buy and hold investor, flipper, wholesaler, etc... You need to figure out a plan on how you plan to attack one or more of those target areas. Next is just sitting down and following that plan to the best of your ability until you have reached your goal.

It's ok if your ultimate goal/plan changes, and it should really. As you experience, grow, and learn more, you'll have a better understanding of how things work and what ventures may be best suited for your personality and lifestyle preferences. However, try to keep on blinders when it comes to shiny object syndrome. Pick one strategy and start with that. After you’ve done a few deals of that type of strategy you can move on.

I would recommend listening to the BP Money Podcast and figure out ways to make more money, spend less, so that in 12-24 months, you can start investing yourself. You can also go to local events and start meeting people who are doing what you want to do.

Getting your mindset right, setting goals, and creating a strategy are essential first steps to investing in real estate. It's also crucial to surround yourself with the right people.

There are many people that you will need to surround yourself with. To ensure success you will definitely want to associate with like-minded people, people with experience and who are already doing what it is you want to do, and people who inspire you… not naysayers, negative people, nor critics. BP is a great place to find these people, both virtually and in real life. You can find local meetups in your area by going to Network>Events up in the menu bar. I’ve found that people on BP are incredibly friendly and willing to help.

Best of luck!