First Real Estate Investment

[Brice Aldrich]

I have a couple general questions about investing in real estate for the first time. I'm in college and I am trying to convert my living expenses into an investment. I currently rent, and am looking to move out of this scenario. 

One approach would be to find a realtor with an eye towards flipping houses. I wouldn't mind living in a house while flipping it for my first flip. I was thinking this time frame would be no longer than a year, until I moved on to more projects. Another approach would be to buy a duplex, live and one side, and rent the other. 

So my first question is what would be the best choice? My goal is to raise capital in a fast pace way that is risk tolerant. I have limited funds as most of my assets are in stocks, but I could make a down payment of sorts, and my credit is excellent. 

I have a steady supporting income from software development that would allow me to afford my rent and a mortgage at the same time if I need to buy sooner rather than later. 

My next questions are about the loan. Would it be better to do traditional financing on a house flip verses getting an LLC and getting a commercial loan. Or can I get a traditional loan and put it in the name of an LLC? Or should I just take personal limited liability insurance out, and wait to get a business license? Any general help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.