Student Loans and Real Estate

[Tyler Biekert]

Hi Everyone,

I am reaching out to introduce myself and ask if anyone has any success stories about overcoming student loans and investing in real estate? My wife and I both come from lower middle class families where we always had food on the table and clothes on our back but for the things we wanted in life we worked. Both my wife and I worked multiple jobs through college but still managed to pile up mountains of student loan debt. We then proceeded to get married and buy a house. Unfortunately we both had vehicles that were also not reliable enough to make it back and forth to work so we have these loans on us now as well. 

We have both done very well for our selves in our short careers so far, however I have come to the realization that I am sick of busting my a** and making money for someone else.  I want to work my a** off for myself and make money for nobody other than my family. I am seeking financial freedom!

I have not made my first investment in real estate yet but my goal is to do so before I turn 30 in Sept 2018. I have done a great deal of research and I have began seeking out mentors but I was wondering if there is anyone out there who has come from a similar background/situation that made the same initial investing mistakes that my wife and I did with the house and cars.  I would love to just pick your brain on the first few chapters of your investing journey. 

I apologize for not having more value to offer to the rest of the community. As I move forward in my real estate investing career I commit to sharing as much as possible and helping others in the same way this website and podcast has helped me so far.  

Thank You

Tyler

[Caleb Heimsoth]

Tyler Biekert So if I’m understanding you correctly, you have a mortgage (primary home), two car payments and likely two student loan payment each month.

Without knowing specific numbers on those (which of you want to provide would likely help), I am suggesting you don’t buy real estate until at least the cars are owned free and clear. If you start adding other mortgages to your already existing debt load I’m guessing your DTI ratio will become too high very quickly.

Car payments are the number one reason Americans don’t built wealth. You want to either pay your cars off or trade them in and downsize to a car you can own outright. A solid 5-7k used car will get you where you need to go and could last a while to.

After you do this you want to attack the student loans (depending on interest rate) if all your student loans are 3-4 percent then maybe you can keep those longer, if they’re 6 percent or above you want to pay those off.

Real estate investing is not some a magical get rich quick scheme. It takes money, usually lots of it (despite what gurus say) and can go very wrong if you overleverage yourself, to do well.

Hopefully you found this informative and not critical, I’m not trying to be critical. Just by being on this site you are ahead of 99 percent of Americans