Want to House Hack but no houses to hack

[Sierra Potts]

Hello! I'm super new to this whole real estate investing thing but I'm immensely intrigued by it I know for a fact that this is my future. I take my agent exam October 6th and I'm going to use all of my profits to put towards building a rental property portfolio to reach financial freedom. I even got my boyfriend on board. He has about 4K saved up. We qualify for an FHA 3.5% down loan for a house hack. My mom said she would give us the down payment. We qualify for $200,000 max and want to find a duplex. We live near Fort Wayne, Indiana in the Midwest. Here's the issue - I look every single day twice a day and the market sucks for a buyer and even worse for an investor at the moment. There is nothing out there! What can I do? Any advice would help. Thank you.

[Account Closed]

My advice would be to get off the MLS and find off-market deals. Start networking with wholesalers in the area.