Recent college grad looking to house hack

[Antonio Estrada]

New investor looking to house hack

Hey guys, new to BiggerPockets and looking for any tips, advice on getting into real estate investing.

I am 23 and have just earned my bachelors degree in Finance in December 2019 and am working and living in the twin cities in Minnesota. I started working in January at $29/hr so roughly $60,000/yr and it is a contract to hire position, so I may or may not be on the job market again next January. After graduating I moved back with my parents because it is close to work, but since March I have been having to work remotely anyways. I have about $14,500 in student loan debt, and because of COVID my first payment date along with further interest accruing has been paused until late November. I also don’t really have much of a credit history, I’ve just checked my score on credit karma is at 670, I’ve also just applied for a credit card with my bank to hopefully build up my credit in the next few months. Since my lease for my college apartment has just ended I currently don’t have any living expenses and have near $20,000 in savings after working 6 months.

I have been wanting to move out from my parents for a while considering renting an apartment but then I have been looking more into buying real estate, more specifically house hacking.

I've been looking at financing with an FHA loan with 3.5% downpayment, looking mainly to buy a duplex where I live in one unit and rent out the other, and if my unit has one extra bedroom I've considered also renting that one out as well or short term rental with Airbnb.

I'm wondering at this point in time would I even be able to get approved for a loan? I've been working full time for the last 6 months and have also worked part time throughout school along with summer jobs and internships so I don't know if my work history would qualify, I also don't have a credit history and am working on building it. I'm also wondering how my student loan debt effects how much I can borrow, I can literally pay it all off right now if I wanted to but I am just weighing out my options right now. I also want to open up a Roth IRA and make the full yearly contribution. Does the potential rental income for a property help with how much you can borrow in the underwriting process? After the down payment and closing costs, how many months worth of payments should I have saved for emergency and in case of vacancies or repairs needed? Also anyone that's in the twin cities that would have any words of advice about the area/different neighborhoods to invest?

I was thinking now would be a good time to invest because interest lates are low right now. Or should I still wait, keep staying at my parents and save more?