Investing/Life Advice Needed

[Michael Barger]

Hello, This is my first post on this site and I really need some advice from people that are in the real estate investing life now. I'm 18 and live in Cincinnati Ohio. I am just about to finish my first semester in college at Ohio State University and am beginning to schedule for the 2nd and I need advice because I feel that I've come to a very large crossroads in my life right now.

To get straight to the point I've only ever seen college and a career afterwards as an option, but I've always been passionate about real estate and planned to do it after college by slowly saving money and then trying to invest while having a full time job. My father passed away a couple years ago from cancer and has left me over 250k. My first thought is that I can use this money to have no debt after college and have money afterwards to start a life. But also since receiving this money I've thought how I could educate myself financially and use this blessing and build a life in real estate and build wealth from it.

Right now all of my classes for college are online so I do not pay room and board or meal plans. On top of that my mother does not work and we live off of a percentage of my income from a part time job and disability she gets because she does not work from nerve damage she has from breast cancer when I was younger. Because her disability does not count as income I get a good amount of financial aid for college, this semester was only $445 without room/board and meal plans and I was able to pay out of pocket. I already know that this next semester will also be still online, but I'm not sure about next year and will probably move to Columbus and into college, adding those room and board expenses.

With that information I have had two ideas.

1) I can stay in college and get my degree (Business and Finance) and over this next semester/summer buy in full or leverage my money and put a downpayment on a small 2beds/1bathroom home that is in need of rehab and rent it out after it is fixed up. But also before I head to Ohio State instead of living on campus and paying more in room/board and other expenses. I find something like a duplex/triplex/4-plex in Columbus and put a downpayment on it and house hack while I take classes for college, while also having some cash flow coming from the small home in Cincinnati. I would also be using the money left to me to pay my college tuition and other fees that aren't room/board and meal plans. While in college I continue with real estate investing and find homes in Columbus or back in Cincinnati where I plan to move back to after college, but this will be a much slower process in order to not completely overwhelm myself with college and real estate.

2) I finish this year out, or drop out of college and start real estate investing as a full time job now. I still plan to follow through with finding a single family home and also house hacking a duplex or larger, but it would be in Cincinnati and not in Columbus. Instead of continuing through college, I will work and also leverage my money carefully to slowly build wealth with a real estate portfolio.

Either way I know I want to build a life in real estate, no matter a degree or not. My mother owned two duplexes when she was younger, but had to sell them as she had too much in life going on. She has shown me and plans to help me through my first couple homes and the processes of creating an LLC, finding reliable contractors, finding good deals, and being smart and safe.

I know the money I have is a blessing and I need to be smart with it, but I know that it takes risks to be successful. It would be a GREAT help if I could get some third party prospective from others that have lives in this field. I know there is also a lot more that goes into real estate investing that what I've said here and that I am still young and have just barely cracked the tip on what I need to learn about this world of real estate investing. I know it will be very challenging, but I plan to grind to my dreams no matter the path I take.

PS) My mother also has gotten money, but plans to use it for her retirement and wants to travel once I'm settled. I just did not want you, the reader to get the impression I was going to leave my mother with nothing.

Thank you for any advice and ideas you may have and your time given.