Post-Graduation: How to Get Started in Real Estate

[Taylor Ullmann]

Hello,

I recently joined BiggerPockets online after listening to the podcast over the past few months, and I am excited to learn from the community! Currently, I am a Senior at The University of Texas at Austin studying Finance and Social Entrepreneurship. Following graduation in May, I will start working at an investment firm in Austin, but I'm hoping to get involved with investing in real estate prior to beginning my full-time job in Austin. After following BiggerPockets and taking a few real estate classes, I'm realizing the value that comes from real estate investing, and I'm interested in the lifestyle that it allows in the long run. 

During the spring semester I plan to dedicate a large amount of time to learning about real estate and finding opportunities, but I'm overwhelmed at the thought of where to begin. Knowing that I will be staying in Austin following graduation, I'm not sure whether I should look for properties here. I have heard from many people that Austin is overpriced, but that good deals are still available if you look hard enough. The problem is that I'm not experienced in real estate, which adds further difficulty to compete for deals in a booming city. This leads me to consider whether I should look for deals in the Dallas area because I grew up there, and my parents are still in the area (so I visit often). If I did look in the Dallas area, which seems to be less expensive, I would still have to find a place to live in Austin after graduation, which ultimately means paying high rent. 

Due to the various components at play and my lack of experience thus far, I am interested to see if anyone has advice on getting started in real estate at a young age in an expensive city. I look forward to hearing your feedback!

[Derrick E.]

First thing is don't put any pressure on yourself. You don't have to go out and learn/read every single book and listen to every podcast. As you start to read/listen you will hear strategies that sound more interesting to you and/or happen to fit your market.

Regardless of what you do, I highly suggest living frugal for the first 2-3 years while getting established. You are already used to living like a college student. Go get that big kid job and continue to live on a college budget for 2-3 more years while saving/investing a lot of money. 

Best of luck and enjoy the ride.