18 years old, how should I start?

Question

Hey Bigger Pockets community, my name is Taylor and I’m 18 years old. I’m going to college next year at either Baylor, SMU, or A&M to get a finance degree (if you have a better degree suggestion please tell me). I am extremely hard working, a good people person, and am very driven. For the past month I’ve been reading real estate books (How to invest in RE, ABCs of RE, and the Millionaire RE investor), I’ve listened to countless hours of podcasts and YouTube videos, and am looking to start applying my knowledge in the next couple months.

My plan right now was to continue learning and to try to get private money at 19, next year when I’m in college, begin to house hack and then scale as much as I can. Hopefully getting 5 homes in my first year and then going up exponentially from there until I can get into the commercial side of real estate. I was really banking on getting private money to purchase these homes and scale. I have however realized without a W-2 job or any experience I don’t think there’s anyway I can obtain private money.

I just watched a video and got a suggestion to begin wholesaling since I am too young and don’t have a W-2 job to obtain any private money or loans.

I was hoping to get some advice on how to take my preparation to the next level. Should I wholesale, what should I do to get enough money to begin investing when I’m 19 / in college. I really want to prepare in the best way possible and not stay at a 9-5 very long if at all.  I want to begin my journey as early as I can and begin my path towards financial freedom in the field I am interested in.

if you suggest getting a job in RE or getting into a mentorship or company in RE please if you have any suggestions or ins let me know.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, I really appreciate everything this community does.

Ryan Irwin · Answer

Hey @Taylor Hughs love the ambition and focus!!

First, it's awesome that you're already setting your sights on big things at your age.  The thing I would recommend is check all the boxes on your journey.  One thing you're going to need to build up is your network, experience (like you said) and reputation.  A few ways to do this is to intern or volunteer with other real estate investors, contractors or property managers.  Get into the weeds and get your hands dirty.  This experience will not only teach you a lot, but likely open up more doors for you (figuratively and literally).

I would also recommend reading Pillars of Wealth by David Greene and Set for Life by Scott Trench if you haven't yet.

Keep up the focus, hard work and consistency, lots of success coming your way.

JD Martin · Answer

1. Start by picking a field of employment that you enjoy such that going to work is not a chore but something that interests you. You're 18. With any luck you're going to be on the planet another 80 years or so, and maybe more. That's too long to sit on the beach drinking appletinis, so you might as well find something that you enjoy. Making money doesn't have to be your life passion, it just needs to be something that's enjoyable to where you don't mind going to work, because if you want to be an investor you need something to invest. If you didn't start off rich, then you need to make money. Generally you do that by stealing it, selling drugs or doing something else illegal, or working.

2. Now that you've picked a career you believe you like - and that's where just trying different courses in college comes in - see if you can make your housing costs correlate with your desire to invest in RE. If you're going to school away from home, see if you can find a small run down house that someone will co-sign with you, then get in there and clean up the place reasonably well, rent the bedrooms out to your college buddies to pay for the mortgage, and sleep on a pull-out in the dining room. In 3 years time you'll have paid down perhaps $10k or more on the principal while virtually eliminating your housing costs at college.

3. Now you've got your degree (hopefully in something that pays well besides being enjoyable) - go maximize your earnings. Keep the old college place and rent it out to other people. If you're going back to your hometown, sleep in your parent's basement until you gather up the money for a new down payment on a duplex/triplex/quadplex, then go buy it, maybe with an FHA. Live in the crappiest, smallest unit there is and rent out the good stuff. Stay there for a couple of years, then move and repeat.

Now you have 4-8 rental units and you're in your early 20's. Work your ass off from there and by your early 30's you'll be bringing in more money than you know what to do with, and can decide if you want to sit around drinking appletinis on the beach or just move into a career that really ignites your passion but maybe doesn't pay as well.

PS: Get a reality check on the 5 houses in your first year. You have no money and you're getting ready to go to school. Concentrate on getting one decent place while you're in school, going to school with little to no student loans, and trying to minimize your housing expenses. You're not going to have 5 units in one year and you're going to be lucky to have 5 units in 5 years. Right now all you have going for you is your back and your age. Leverage that with maximum skills that someone's willing to pay for and you'll be rich before you know it (if that's your goal).

Ryan Irwin · Answer

@JD Martin makes some excellent points here @Taylor Hughs.  Like he mentions, checking the boxes is another way to say go through the appropriate steps.  You need to gain experience, make money and while having patience, be consistently persistent.  Both of the books I mentioned lay out a great plan and guidelines to this.  Similar to any profession, it takes time, but if you keep at it, you will get to your goals.  Keep utilizing this and the other platforms/resources, all the best!

Taylor Hughs · Answer

Thank you so much this really means a lot. I really appreciate you taking the time to respond :)

Dan Sheeks · Answer

My advice would be to read the Bigger Pockets’ book First to a Million (and the workbook). It’s written for young aspiring investors just like you.

Taylor Hughs · Answer

Thank you so much Ryan, this advice really means a lot to me. I’m going to go to one of the next few RE meet ups in my area and talk to a lot of local investors to get an internship with one of them.

I also was wondering what do you mean by checking the boxes on my journey? Could you please elaborate and let me know what you think I should do and how I can get money to afford my first home? I don’t want to wait until I’m 23 to buy my first house if possible, do you have any advice on that?

thank you so much for taking the time to read my message and respond it really means the world to have guidance. I can’t wait to follow this path.

18 years old, how should I start?

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