Need advice on buying my first house hack

[Katelyn Whitfield]

Alright so this is my situation.. I'm 25 and work as a waitress, don't make much money, don't have a lot of money saved and have built absolutely zero credit. I live in Stephenville Texas which is home to a big D1 university with a lot of college students and rodeo people that rent year round. What I want to do is buy a property with land for horses as my primary residence that I can fix up over time, rent out rooms and horse stalls to tenants and then have this be my first investment. Obviously my problem is money and being accepted for a loan, but I am not worried about my mortgage being paid off over time by having tenants, because rental properties with horse accommodations are hugely sought after and get filled up very quickly due to the large rodeo presence in this town and college kids. I have someone that would maybe pay for the down payment and closing costs, but how what would be a good plan in paying them back?

So what should I be doing to make this possible for myself as a first time investor and what would be the best way to achieve this.  I am very new, but just want to get started.

[Guy Gimenez]

I think you're setting yourself and your money partner up for failure. 

Trying to "house hack" with no money, no credit and no experience in being a landlord is, well, a horrible idea. The web is full of people who thought, "how hard can this be?" and then promptly found out. It is idealistic to say there will be no problem paying off your mortgage with tenants paying you. I can't tell you how many calls I've had from folks who thought all tenants pay rent timely and all life is beautiful. It's not. What happens when tenants stop paying? Are you ready to spend money on evictions? What if the government says tenants don't have to pay their rent and can't be evicted? Sound familiar? What happens when the tenants cause damage to the property before they're evicted? Do you have the funds to make repairs? Simply put, your plan is not a good idea for you or your money partner. And I won't even discuss the fact that getting an institutional loan with no credit and no cash reserves is wishful thinking. I'm not trying to bust your bubble, but this idea is more of a pipe dream than a well thought out plan.