New to this

[Josephine Farai Tanis]

Im 25 and my husband and I just graduated college and have full time jobs. I'm only 7 months into my job and really am realizing that it's not for me. Thankfully, I can listen to podcasts and music while I work... and I've become obsessed with listening to everything I can about real estate! AND I WANT IN! I want to have rentals that will cover the costs, allow for flexibility and freedom and also generate real wealth. The big thing for us though is how and when do we start? We also don't have any money to put down, so taking out a loan would be our only option at this point in life. Lastly, we're expecting! Which is so exciting, but makes all of this feel a lot harder when a baby is in the mix! What are your thoughts or advise? I'm all ears! 

[Michael Paling]

You might not like my first advice, but I'll say that you should really make sure you have your financial foundation solid before delving too much into REI, especially with a baby on the way (congrats!). This might mean working hard and saving as much as possible for a few years. After I graduated college, I started reading a lot of the FIRE blogs, like Mr. Money Mustache. I sold my truck that I bought 9 months earlier, opened investment accounts, and gave myself a goal of spending $100 max on food per month. You'll look back and thank yourself for the commitment.

Some other advice... start out with house hacking. Find a duplex, tri-plex, or quad-plex and live in one of the units. You could probably find loans that only require 3.5% down through FHA or I've seen 5% down conventional. You could also look into the NACA home buying program. I know very little about it, but episode 261 of the Real Estate Rookie covers this.