Which investment strategy for my current situation??

[Rochelle Duong]

Hello!

I'm currently a newbie to real estate investing world and am still considering various strategies that would be best for me. I am currently 27 years old, no spouse/kids, about $80K in student debt, and just started working as a health professional for about 40-55 hours/week. I currently am not paying any rent since my house is already paid off, but my main goals are to pay off that student debt faster and build wealth as soon as possible.

So in general, most of my income goes to paying off my loans, and the rest goes to personal expenses, and savings for investments. I wanted to hear some thoughts on what strategies would be the most forgiving for someone who doesn't have alot of money right now. 

I've considered wholesaling because I was enticed by the idea of making "quick cash," but as I did some quick reading on it, it does require ALOT of time bird dogging, marketing, and a legal process where I may or may not need a real estate license for (which I don't want to get). 

I've considered buying and holding, but living in california, the down payment for a home is expensive, so I was considering the housing market in other states.

House hacking is something I heard is also good for new investors, but still need to look into that more, since I don't know too much about it.

And fixing and flipping would be something I would do further down the road, but not now.

Someone also suggested buying land property as well, but its also another area that I am not too familiar with

Does anyone share a similar situation as me? Or what to consider when deciding on your investment strategy?

[Steve Milford]

My suggestion is to get a real estate license and then use it to gain access to property faster and look for deals. Being a Realtor doesn't carry a ton of credibility by itself, though it carries more than being an investor when you're starting out.

I have always wanted to be in real estate, but I had little cash when I started. Lol, in reality, I had none. I paid for my license and starting fees with a credit card. After my first deal, I paid off that credit card and still had money left over; lol, I was hooked. 

Being a Realtor is a side hustle for me and I help people when I don't have an active property I am working on. Active meaning one that I am flipping. And I do it to get out of the house.

Let me explain. I have learned to network a lot, don't think I am really good at it, yet stuff comes my way because I help people connect the dots. I look at a lot of homes for myself and a few buyers I always seem to find.  

In the course of that activity I find sellers that want to list with me and buyers that need help looking, so I help them and get paid for it. Is it my main focus? No. I have a W-2 job that I keep for insurance and other benes. 

Am I a high producer? No, but I am not in it for income as a job, I am in it to find deals. For many years I did nothing except learning. Once I got my license then I started investing too and it was a lot easier because I had the experience from helping other people.

Something to think about.