Is it feasible to go full time into real estate investing straight out of college?

Question

Has anyone on here went straight into real estate investing full time straight out of college? Real estate rental investing is what I want to do, I don't want to have to work a job I don't enjoy for years just to accumulate some savings. Has anyone on here done this? I am currently running into issues with finding lenders due to me still being in college and having a lack of proof of income. I just want to know if this dream is feasible and if I can potentially get some advice from you all.

Thanks

James Carlson · Answer

@Theo Seng

Hate to be the downer, but...No, it's not possible.

Notice that no one above actually said that they went into real estate investing full-time after college. They just said, yeah, maybe it's possible.

Now ... could you? Sure, but it will actually delay you from making bigger wealth faster. To do it, you'd have to live like a pauper for several years. All ramen and studio apartments. No eating out. No social life. Because without the W2 income, you're going to have a hell of a time buying anything.

Better strategy? Plan to work for five years, maybe 10. Use your w2 to qualify for a mortgage. House hack by the room. Live the pauper life. Save, save, save. Buy again in a year or two. Repeat for 5-10 years.

Do that, and you'll still be ahead of 99.9% of the population, but there's too much fantasy thinking on this site. Be patient. You can still live a better life than almost everyone else and much quicker, but no, you don't get the dream life at 22.

V.G Jason · Answer

You need money to be an investor, are you equipped coming out college with a windfall, trust, or another form of capital?

If not, good luck. You can work in real estate full time, get your hands dirty and learn the grind. But you won't be an investor. Being an investor is not a right, it's a privilege.

Evan Polaski · Answer

@Theo Seng, "real estate investing" has no set definition, so everyone is answering based on various personal paradigms and assumptions.

Like others said, is it possible? Yes. Is it realistic?  Probably not.

At the end of the day, your biggest asset in getting into real estate is a stable W2 job.

That being said, it probably isn't what you mean, but my first job out of college was for a retail real estate owner operator.  I was the analyst on their capital raising team.  So I got to deal with institutional investors, I got to sit in on acquisition meetings hearing how they approach acquisitions and operations.  I sat in on investor Due Diligence meetings with the heads of all departments, learning how leasing was done, property management, bank financing, corporate finance and budgeting, etc.

This was anything but a job I hated.  And, it paid me so that when I was ready to buy my first, second, third, up to 9th rental, I had income to qualify for loans.

Now, could you hit up your friends and family to fund a flip right out of college, and jump right into it?  Maybe.  That is real estate investing.

Some people might call wholesaling a way to get into real estate investing, and you can technically do that without any experience (whether you are successful is a whole other can of worms, but you can spend a lot of time).

Becoming a real estate agent can be done straight out of college and a lot of agents are real estate investors.

But anything self employed like wholesaling, flipping or becoming an agent will keep you from getting loans too.  Typically, to qualify for loans when contract or self employed, you need two years of tax returns for a typical loan.

Joe S. · Answer

That’s not full time though.

James Carlson · Answer

Totally agree with this. Buy as soon as you can, but that's not the same as going into real estate investing as a full time job.

Daniel McDonald · Answer

Definitely feasible, but don't sleep on the W2. You're already in college, so it sounds like getting a degree is pretty probable so why not take advantage of a *higher* salary for a few years and the fact banks will find you more appealing and just use that to scale faster. Leverage the W2. You can 100% do both. Yes, it's not what you want to do but ultimately the quicker you scale the faster you'll get to freedom.

Tanner Lewis · Answer

I suggest going into a real estate investing field. I was planning to go to med school, but realized that I wanted to go that route so I could dump earnings into real estate. Instead, I began working as a DSCR/hard money lender and I get daily reps in evaluating deals. In my opinion, if you enjoy doing it in your free time, make it a profession, and you will not be disappointed.

Alecia Loveless · Answer

@James Carlson Agree with James here. You will need to get a job for the fastest way to get into real estate investing. I’ve had an easy job, an overnight counselor at a group home that has allowed me to obtain mortgages for enough properties to be able to retire and go to limited part time work 4 years later. I’ve never made more than $45,000 and have worked 3rd shift allowing me to spend more time focusing on real estate as well as having most of my work shifts to myself to focus on real estate as well.

Bob Stevens · Answer

Of course, you do not need college to do RE. Start by flipping contracts, that's exactly how I started. Find deals, and you will be paid a fee from the investor. Learn save then go on your own.

Good luck

Jake Baker · Answer

@Theo Seng

Yes it is. I bought my first house hack 9 months after graduating.

Is it feasible to go full time into real estate investing straight out of college?

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