Getting started in real estate investing (house hacking or BRRRR)

[Maxwell Hough]

Hello, my name is Max, I am 17 years old, live in NorCal, recently found out about BP, and I am very interested in investing in real estate in the upcoming years. I guess what I want to know is couple things, should I start out my real estate investing journey by house hacking or doing a BRRRR deal? These are the two strategies that seem the most appealing. On top of that, I was wondering how much money I should aim to have in order to do one of these (I have $1,400), I am young so I would be willing to work for a while and save as much as possible while living with my parents. What are the types of loans I would be able to get with each of the two investment strategies. Also, I am curious how difficult it is to get a loan from a hard money lender/private lender and what the requirements are. I have seen that I could get a loan where I can put down as little as 3% - 5% for house hacking. So yeah, I would greatly appreciate some advice/guidance, thanks!

[Brandon Rush]

Max!

You are 17 and thinking ahead, good stuff! Above all, I would highly recommend you start with a house hack. It is one of the easiest ways to acquire property and you learn so much from the experience. You will learn various things such as:

* How to self manage
* How to deal with tenants
* How to budget
* How to purchase a property
* And so much more

Think of this, you start house hacking at the age of 18 or 19 and you house hack a different property every year for 5 years, you just picked up 5 properties! Many may say it is not possible but these are the same people who have not house hacked one property in their lives. 

In terms of financing, since you will be a first time homebuyer, you will most likely qualify for first time homebuyers loan, which is pretty much a low down payment conventional loan. I would recommend this loan over an FHA as there are less fees and you will be able to get rid of the PMI after you have built up to 20% equity in the property.

In terms of a BRRRR, you could potentially do both at the same time. Heck, if you found the right opportunity, you could BRRRR and property and turn it into your house hack. This would be the ideal situation.

I have a few recommendations for you to get started in this process:
* Start surrounding yourself with other investors. Maybe find a local meetup or create your own. You will get plenty of guidance from local investors. Letting them know what your intentions are will lead to many opportunities in the future.

* Find a few lenders to speak with. From your investor friends, ask for lender referrals. Call those referrals and let them know what your future goals are. They will be able to provide guidance on what type of funds you will need and what kind of work experience you will need. 

* Find a job in real estate. If you are open to it, maybe work for a company that deals with some aspect of real estate (ex. construction, real estate broker's office, mortgage company, or etc). This will give you first hand experience and only make you more prepared for acquiring property. 

Max, just start putting yourself out there and letting people know what your goals are and a path will start to develop.

Good luck on your journey and feel free to reach out with any questions!