Get a duplex while in college?

Question

I am currently a community college student, initially had plans to transfer to a university and major in computer science but discovered how deeply I want to understand how money works, so I have switched to finance. I want to go out of state to finish my schooling, mostly because I want to get a job in the future near the out of state university, knowing I will have an advantage at getting a job there because of internship opportunities and job scouts searching within the college (the college is near a huge financial sector). The only problem is that my parents aren't paying a cent for my schooling and make too much for me to get financial aid. I've been reading big pocket's books about rental property investing and investing with no $ down and was wondering if it would be any sort of possibility to put a down payment on a duplex out of state and live there while going to university (paid for by loan).

David Clay · Answer

Hmm. I often recommend that people consider doing this when they start living off campus. I think you need the first year on campus to develop friends and get a sense of things. This doesn’t seem relevant to you. Without knowing details about location and prices etc., I would encourage it. Instead of taking out a loan, I would recommend you do a first time home buyer program. Hopefully, you’re working, but if not you’ll need to be able to show that you can make the payments on the mortgage. I’m not sure that your student loans will count as part of your income. Thus, you’ll need an income to purchase. However, there are creative deals. If you can find someone who will do an owner finance you could get in that way and sell the property when you’re ready to transition or simply cash out the owner. You’d have to do some searching, but it is a numbers game. You’d have to keep asking someone until you got a positive response. You could contact the real estate association in the area of interest. When you find the house, rent it out by the room to other college students, but treat it like a business with legitimate leases, responsiveness to maintenance requests, etc. Even better, if you have a down payment and can get a duplex or a triplex, maybe even a 5 BR house. This will help to cut down on your cost of living. I’m certain others can give more specific advice and probably better. Good luck.

Get a duplex while in college?

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