Looking to start investing -- Nashville, TN

[William Allen]

I'm a recent college graduate working at a tech company in Nashville, TN. I grew up in Nashville and have loved seeing all the recent market growth in recent years.

At the moment, I have a good bit of student loan debt. I should be able to pay it all off in the next 2-3 years based on my annual salary, but I've been looking into ways to supplement my income and get it paid off faster.

My job is fairly standard (45 hours/week) and I have more bandwidth. I have some good connections in the realtor world so I have considered becoming a part time realtor. Do you think this is a good next step to accelerate my student loan payments while learning about the real estate market? Do you have other ideas of how I can make side income while also building some human capital? Thanks!

[Andrew Powers]

Hi William, welcome to BP. I suggest educating yourself as much as possible in parallel with work and whatever side hustle you do. Go to the BP Bookstore tab and there's alot of good content to read up on. Also listen to the BP podcasts.

There's alot of debate on whether investors "should" become realtors or not. I would suggest a forum search for similar topics.

A suggestion for making side income & learning real estate would be to buy your first house to "house hack"... rent out other rooms in the house, or if a duplex+ you can rent out the other unit. Many people on BP (including me) started out this way. If you calculate the number right, you can live for free or even make money above the expenses of owning a home. Either way if you can target to live for free, this removes the cost of renting which is extra savings for paying loans.

[Mitchell Meyer]

Hey William, I agree with Andrew. House hacking can be a great way to live mortgage free and build equity at the same time.

Becoming a Realtor is definitely an option and it could be a good part time gig, however it could take awhile to get started and actually start making money. Have you thought of wholesaling? You can make out very well wholesaling in this market with little to no money.

[Luka Milicevic]

@William Allen Welcome to the forums

-No reason to not get your license. At the least you will have MLS access

-Attend as many local meetups as possible

-Listen to the BP podcast

-Post on the forums. (Don't be a one and done poster)