House-Hacking for Recent College Grad

[Hayden W Gibson]

Hello everyone,

I've seen several posts on BP from younger people, like myself, who are in college or have recently graduated and want to get into the real estate game. I graduated from school a month ago and moved to Denver for a job. This last week I was fortunate enough to get my first investment property under contract (House-hacking and hopefully the closing goes well!). I thought it would be useful to share a few things I did while in college that set me up to hit the ground running after I graduated.

1. Get a job (if you can): If you can manage it, work while your in school. I was a business major, and my classes weren't crazy, so I worked full-time while I was in college. Obviously, not everyone can do that (if I was an engineering major I would have had a hard time even working part-time), but every little bit helps. Working helps keep school costs down, but more importantly, you can use your job to learn how to handle money. When you have an income, no matter how small or large, it gives you the opportunity to learn how to budget which sets you up for success once you have a better job after school.

2. Learn Excel: BP has some cool calculator tools, but I'm a big fan of using Excel to run numbers. Not only does Excel help you get more comfortable with running numbers, but I think it helps you understand what the numbers mean and how they are calculated. For me, I created my own RE calculator, and I used it to analyze properties while I was looking for my first investment. As an added bonus, you can use Excel for stats, finance, or economics homework!

3. Record your thoughts during tough days. I hated school. In fact, the thing that kept me grinding my classes was the goals and dreams I have for life after school. The frustrations and boredom are what will drive you to strive for more. The hard part about feeling frustrated with school or a job is that the feelings don't stick with you all day. You will be frustrated for short spurts, but then you tend to forget about the irritation. That's why jotting down your thoughts when you're frustrated and reading back through them works wonders. I used this approach in college (and still use it), and there is no better way to keep you accountable to your dreams and goals.

To my fellow young people, I hope this helps!