Starting real estate investing as a married 24-year-old

[Joey Keske]

Hello, I am wanting to begin real-estate investing in the St. Pete area and have a few questions that I would like to know more about if anyone is willing to help out. I am new to real-estate investing and want to purchase my first property by the end of this Summer. I am searching into multi-family properties, moving into one unit and renting out the others, then eventually moving out and renting out all units. From your experiences, is there any advice you could give on location within St. Petersburg and the surrounding areas, if this market is in a good spot to jump in, or if it might be better off to wait or go into single-family home investments? Also, are there certain areas I should be searching deeper into within the St. Pete area that tend to be more positive as far as multi-family properties? Would love the insight on how I should get started in this search or if I should go a whole different route from someone who has experience in this line. Also, would love to talk with any of you separately to gain more insight on the area as well as my thoughts. 

[Carlos Valencia]

Quote from @Joey Keske:

Hello, I am wanting to begin real-estate investing in the St. Pete area and have a few questions that I would like to know more about if anyone is willing to help out. I am new to real-estate investing and want to purchase my first property by the end of this Summer. I am searching into multi-family properties, moving into one unit and renting out the others, then eventually moving out and renting out all units. From your experiences, is there any advice you could give on location within St. Petersburg and the surrounding areas, if this market is in a good spot to jump in, or if it might be better off to wait or go into single-family home investments? Also, are there certain areas I should be searching deeper into within the St. Pete area that tend to be more positive as far as multi-family properties? Would love the insight on how I should get started in this search or if I should go a whole different route from someone who has experience in this line. Also, would love to talk with any of you separately to gain more insight on the area as well as my thoughts. 

 Hi Joey, 

This is a great strategy on getting started. This strategy is known as House Hacking which means buy as primary and rent out the other units or rooms so they can help pay for your mortgage. Many of our clients use this strategy to get their foot in the door. This strategy also teaches you how to be a landlord . Another great thing about house hacking is that you can slowly rehab the property if needed or if your looking to get higher rent. I'm not super familiar about the area your looking to purchase in. I cannot advise on that. I can advise on the financing part in terms on how to structure your loan and making sure you have an exit strategy that will allow you to continue to purchase your next investment and continue to rinse and repeat. Make sure that whoever you decide to work with that they know how to help you navigate and provide you with the best financing options for your scenario in order to start on the right foot. 

@Albert Bui @Matthew Kwan