Small multi-family is a great first investment
There are many ways to make money in real estate, but few are as relatively easy and low budget as small multi-family properties. With 5% down conventional loans and FHA loans, buying a property with two or three units can cost less than $30k out of pocket. This can be even lower with down payment assistance if you qualify. If you live in one unit and rent out the other, you can break even or even have positive cash flow. Then with the equity you build up through loan paydown and appreciation over the course of a few years you can cash out refinance and use that money to snowball into another property. After doing this a few times, your properties can basically pay for themselves. This process can continue almost indefinitely until financial freedom! You can grow your initial $30k investment into a multimillion-dollar portfolio. If you are just starting out in real estate investing, go get you a small multi-family property!