College senior from Auburn, Alabama

[Reed Cooper]

Hey guys. First things first, my name is Reed Cooper. This is my first post on BP and I am a senior studying marketing at Auburn University. Currently 22 years old and have recently became fascinated with the idea of buying and holding homes while renting them out. My short term goal is to make my first purchase, make the necessary upgrades/fixes and find a good tenant to rent my property. Long term goals would be to eventually have 5 properties that i have under my belt that have great tenants and are preferably paid off. (I know this won't happen overnight) prior to joining I have been reading/researching as much as possible trying to prepare for my first purchase prior to graduation. Some questions that I have: 1) does anyone know if people get together and hold meetings near the auburn area on here? I would love to attend one 2) How did you guys finance your first property?(I have a good credit score but hardly any history) 3)thoughts about private investors? I didn't want to drown the thread with questions in my introduction post lol. But being a newbie you could imagine I have tons. If anyone lives near the auburn are I would love to have lunch one day. Thanks for reading guys!

[Denise Evans]

Hi Reed, I sometimes have classes in the Auburn area.  Check out my website, and I'll comp a ticket for you.  As far as investing, you should start out in Auburn. Look for those sad little, faded-out, yard signs that say "For Rent." Maybe you can't even read the phone number any more. THAT is an owner who is looking for someone to take a problem off their hands. You can master lease such a property for a term of three to five years with an option to purchase, and then make any necessary repairs, do your marketing, and put a tenant in place for a larger rent than you are paying. OR, better, you can often buy such a property with owner financing. Usually, the owner just wants regular income anyway, not a lump sum. That is why they are a landlord. But, landlording hasn't been working out so well for them in recent times, and they are looking for a solution.

Another option is tax sales. I'm a BIG believer in buying tax sale properties.  You can buy them for next to nothing, you rent them out, and even if the owner redeems, you get to keep all the rent. Often, the owner does not redeem, and you just got a decent property for a couple thousand dollars in acquisition cost and repairs.