College House Hacking

[Kyle Pickering]

I'm currently a senior in high school, and due to the Covid-19 pandemic, I found myself working 40 hour weeks in a warehouse making medical supplies instead of finishing my year in school. I am not looking for pity however, because my time working has given me 8 hours a day to listen to whatever books, podcasts, or whatever else I want. Within the first week, I found myself interested about real estate, and I listened to the book "House Hacking." I currently have no debt, no spouse, and don't have to deal with the many real issues which hold many people back when wanting to get into a new business, so I feel as I'm in a great position. House Hacking seemed fantastic, and I'd love to try one of the various strategies for myself, but I'm worried that I won't be able to until I am out of college, which could be 4 or more years for me. For my first two years of college, I have to live on campus, but for my 3rd and 4th year I am looking for a way where I can take my first steps into real estate by house hacking. I figured as a college student living near 2 colleges (I will be going to school at the Westminster College, Salt Lake City, which is a short drive from the University of Utah), I will be able to find plenty of year long tenants who are also college students looking for a place to live. There are some problems however. I will have little to no debt due to my parents help with college loans and my current savings covering the rest, but I will also have no income, and I know banks look at a steady income while giving out loans. Would this lack of income force me to turn to other places such as family to get money for my first house hack? Also I'm worried that I won't be able to balance both house hacking and schooling and I don't want to find myself failing at both because of it. If you have any tips you could give me on starting out or see any other flaws in my plan I'd love to hear them, as I'm still very new at this.