What's my first move?

[Alex Curtis]

Hey everyone,

I'm new to REI and I'm doing a lot of reading about it. I currently own stocks, bonds and mutual funds and while there are a lot of pros, there are also a lot of cons. I don't like that I have little control over my investments. I'm planning on taking most of my money out of stocks once the market picks up again and keeping it in a savings account until I'm ready for my first Real Estate Investment.

I'm thinking about either House Hacking, investing in a Single Family House and renting it out, or buying a Student Rental house (single family house rented out to college students). I figure by the end of 2016 I should have about $16-20k to invest. 

House Hacking
Should I look for a duplex, a single family turned into a mother/daughter, or just look for a great deal on a single family and turn it into a rental myself? Would be in the NYC/NJ area where the real estate is more expensive. 

Buy & Hold
I figure I should live within 30-45 minutes of the property so I can manage the property myself. Looking at properties around $100k if I can get a discount, put 20% down and get a 30 year mortgage. Any advice?

Student Property 
If I bought a Single Family House to rent out to students it would be in a location 3 hours away and I would most likely have to hire a property manager. Real Estate is cheap in that location ($100k and below) and a single property can bring in $14k/year of rental income plus I know the area very well.

Where would you start if you were me?