Advice for a young entrepreneur: Vacation rental properties

[Derek Kulp]

I would like to thank you all in advance for your time reading/responding to this post, anything you have to offer would be very helpful and appreciated.

I am planning on pursuing a venture in real estate, specifically specializing in vacation rental properties. First I’ll start out by giving some basic info about myself and my situation.

I currently am 19 years old, live in PA and in the last semester of getting my Associates degree in Business Administration. I perform very well in school, as my current GPA is 3.94. This summer I will be moving down to the Myrtle Beach area with some family friends. I have already applied and been accepted to Coastal Carolina University so I have the option of going there in the fall if I would want to. My major at coastal would be Finance. A few months ago I was offered a job doing financial related work (taxes, accounting, consulting start-ups), which I took, so I do have a job. I will be able to keep that job once I move down to Myrtle, so I would have income coming in while pursuing the real estate venture. This job does not take up a large portion of my time, so I would still have a lot of time to focus on the real estate business.

I have secured financing, not sure the exact amount yet, the details still have to be ironed out, but between 50-80k, with a low interest rate and the investor is very willing to be flexible. So to me, on the financial side of things, I am in a fairly good position. Keeping it very general, I am going to focus on locations on the beach/a block from the beach, and also properties within the vicinity of 2+ golf courses, as I believe they have the most potential. The goal would obviously be short-term rentals. I also plan on hiring a property management company, but I will be as involved with everything as I possibly can be. Over the summer I am also planning on becoming a licensed real estate salesman, that way in three years I will be able to apply for a broker license and act independently, abling me to solely broker my own deals.

To wrap things up, here are a few questions I would love your input on:

Opinion on what I should do with school? Should I even bother with going two more years?

Would it be a good move to get real estate licensed in my situation?

Any other comments, advice or concerns would be greatly valued and respected. Thank you all again!

Derek