Updated almost 9 years ago on . Most recent reply
Need Tips and Advice
Hello everyone, my name Saul and I recently started to get really interested into real estate investing. I been listening to the pod cast and watching lots of bigger pockets videos/reading books forums post. I finally decided to take action and start learning and working towards my first deal! I just wanted advice and tips on what paths or what's the best/easier path that fits my situation. Now here is my situation:
I am 20 years old living with my parents and work full time 7am-4pm as a CAD designer earning $2,000 a month (after taxes). I stopped going to college because I felt school was not for me. Am the kind of person who likes to dive into business and learn from experience plus all those lectures and homework give me headaches. I was in dual enrollment in high school so I did get my AA which is really nothing nowadays. Now I been hitting the books and studying different strategies that I can dive into. I really like the idea of house hacking because am young and single or flipping houses using the BRRRR strategy. I live in Ocala, Florida which is south of Gainesville and north of Orlando. There aren't many duplexes and triplexes around this area or nice ones anyways (which is what I want to get into) but there are plenty of single family homes so I don't know if that's more convenient for me. Also I have about $2,700 saved up and have minimum bills & no debt so I just started saving up to $1,000-$1,200 per month. I been working at my job for 2 years now so I think I qualify for a FHA loan and I never bought a house before.
What do you guys recommend I do? I am most definitely going to need to keep saving and learning for another year or so but what do guys recommend I do when I have some money saved up? Should I quit my job and move to Gainesville or Orlando? Should I try to find a good deal on a single family home in this area? or should I just quit my job and get a real estate license so I can save money on deals and stuff like that? Any help/tips with those questions will be greatly appreciated. I look forward to being part of this awesome community and learning/helping others!!
Thanks, have an awesome day :)
Most Popular Reply
Welcome to the group.
Everyone is different and to ask someone else if you should quit your job, well really only you can determine if that's the best fit for you. There are a lot of "if's" and these are my opinion from experience and what I have seen others do, whether it worked or not for them.
If you have a job, granted you want to be in RE, why quit. Do you have a plan to acquire property without a job?
If you quit, you are no longer saving what you are able to save now, while living with your parents and not having any other life bills.
If you quit, and get another non 7-4 timeframe of work, will the next job be enough to fuel your RE, $ave, and live off of?
If you quit, you won't be able to apply for any conventional lending let alone getting lending without sufficient W2 or established properties for which non-traditional lending will use.
If you quit, and many are so inclined to do, get a RE license to fuel your RE endeavors such as learning the business while immersed in helping and learning from other investors who utlize agents. As you mentioned, you can get your RE license but do it while you are working and then branch out.
If you move, yes, there could be opportunities not available where you are - just do a little homework before you just pick up and leave. Do a little research of the area you are interested in and have a plan of what you will do so you continue to have momentum.
Many people buy without having to move to an area - another "if" you just want to get into a different market (Orlando is surely larger and probably has more opportunities) to be "in" the area to meet with other investors from the larger REIs. That's a good way to be able to drive around and see for yourself what areas of interest there may be for you.
A lot of people are investors with good W2 that help fuel their RE business and are so inclined to quit "after" they feel they have established themselves and no longer need the W2.
Others are laid off from company wide layoffs and have to get another W2 because their RE is not enough to live off of.
The house hacking idea is one I would have personally done had I known about it when I was in my 20's. I was able to do it and never heard of it until I got older - and it's not something I want to do now. :-)
I believe there is a large REI in Ocala called ?? MCREI for the Marion County RE. I have never been to it but I have heard from several other investors how good a group it is and it's not just members that live in that area. There are some people from Gainesville that attend. Perhaps reach out to that group, it could be an eye opener and get you networking with others.
Good luck to you.....