Investing After College

[Dylan Brauner]

Hi guys, I'm set to graduate with my masters in the summer of 2018 at the age of 23. I'll owe roughly $10,000 in student loans, but I would like to begin investing ASAP. I go to school and plan on staying in Kansas City, so I figure it would be wise to use my first house as an investment opportunity. With that being said, I plant on house hacking a small, multi-unit of no more than 4 units. (((If everything works out, I would acquire my second property using another FHA loan roughly 14 months later.))) I can realistically save $10,000 by the time I graduate, which would provide me with enough cash for a down payment/cash reserves for houses priced in the $80-120,000 range, according to my calculations. Has anyone been in the same position, and can offer advice as to either: A) begin investing! or B) Pay off student loans and continue renting! or C) [Insert answer here]. Any comments are appreciated, thanks!

[Travis Limbocker]

@Dylan Brauner first off congrats on graduating and getting your Master's at a young age. If I could go back and start the REI journey while finishing my Master's degree, I most certainly would.

I endorse @Kim Tucker suggestion on finding a way to acquire a small MF around the university, live in one unit, and rent out the others. The rental income would offset your mortgage (if you buy right), and you will gain valuable knowledge on how to landlord a property. Good thing about about the student housing strategy is stability: students will ALWAYS need a place to live and the parents will be averse to stop paying rent and risk their children not finishing college.

The Plaza is an awesome area. Price point is high, so I'm not sure if it's a viable option for you; nevertheless the suggestion of AirBNB and creating furnished rentals is a great niche IMHO. If you can do it, more power to you.

I have acquired MF properties with the subject-to / 100% seller finance and if you can find a seller who's open to this setup, it's a diamond in the rough! 

I agree with @Jeff Sheraton and @Mike D'Arrigo that the student loan interest will be negligible vs the return you could receive in the KCMO area; enough to pay off your debt even while you're still knocking out your Master's.

Best of luck and congrats again on making the decision to invest at such an early age. It'll pay off no doubt.