First post had a few questions.

[Travis Bill]

First off great site iv learned a lot just browsing the last few days.

Im a 19 year old kid who dropped out of college and opened a business. Its been okay but not as profitable as I thought it would be. Im gonna shut it down. Iv decided I'm tired of paying rent and I'd like to look into purchasing a plex possibly in the next 6 months. Im in the midwest and there seems to be a lot of good options in my area. 10-13 cap properties a plenty.

What would you recommend for a first property? Being profitable is by far the most important aspect of this for me, but I would be living in the building.

Are 1 bedroom apartments easier to rent than 2 or 3s? Im in a 100,000 Pop college town.

How is it getting financing? Iv got a pretty good credit score for a 19 yr old because I took an 8k loan for my start-up. Its around 680ish.

If you could start over would you go it alone or with a partner what would you recommend? Iv have a close friend who Im thinking I may offer a chance to try this with me. He's a great guy and a good handyman. Also with the 2 of us I could go from probably looking in the 40-80k range up to the 100-130k range. Would be moving from 1 bedroom triplexes and 2/2 duplexes up to 1/1/1/1/1 or 2/3/2/3's.

Ideally id like to pay a single place off as soon as possible(hopefully3-5 years) Then use it as a line of credit for down payments (I could use 80% of the value right?) to acquire 3 or 4 more properties, Hopefully one would be a house for me.

Thanks much for all responses.

[Account Closed]

Welcome Travis,

Sounds like your a go getter. Wonderful to see in a 19 year old. I suspect you'll do well. It also seems that your willing to take some chances.

Spend time digging into the various articles and forums here and I think you'll be well prepared to light the world on your end.

Sounds like your looking for a home as well as an investment. In your case starting out with a duplex or triplex might be the best thing. I wouldn't suggest starting to big as a starter property. Gets some experience under your belt first.