Young Investor Starting Out!!

[Nathan Atkinson]

I'm 18 and moving into the La Crosse area for college soon. I have little to no capital and credit. I am required to live on campus for my first two years at school. I would like to start making money in real estate as soon as possible. It seems like my best option is to try and wholesale but I was wondering if there was another method that I should try instead. 

[Adam Hoffer]

Nathan, welcome to BP and congratulations on trying to get your start in real estate investing. Are you going to Viterbo or UW-L? 

Wholesaling can be a great business. However, wholesaling can be quite challenging with little capital. Do you have a wholesaling strategy picked? Direct mail can get pricey on a large scale. 

How hard is it to get out of the requirement to live on-campus? House hacking may be more accessible. Lending requirements have loosened considerably - maybe not quite to the point where you can get a mortgage without a job, but maybe not far from that. I can connect you with a lender if you like (send me a PM). Wisconsin has some great owner-occupied loans (you can get a WHEDA loan for 0% down in some cases). A lender should be able to tell you exactly what you will need in order to qualify for a loan in a year or two.

Alternatively, you could work with another investor in town. If you bring value, you could carve yourself out some equity in some investment properties. I've seen some creative uses of seller financing that facilitate purchases with no bank lending and relatively small down payments.