College student from Orlando, Florida

[Lukas Getter]

Hi my name is Lukas and I'm new to everything real estate. I've always been interested in it as a way to create passive income through rental properties and I'm just now starting to take it seriously. I'm a Computer Science major at UCF and I'm trying to think of creative ways to get a head start on my real estate journey. I found bigger pockets through Youtube and now listen to the podcast on Spotify. I've read the UBG and I'm half way through The Book on Investing with No Money Down. As things stand I will be leasing out an apartment at one of the local student housing complexes but I think that it would be smarter to house hack since I'll be here for at least another two years. Ideally I would like to find a house within a few miles of the campus that needs some small improvements. A few questions for others more experienced than I: What criteria do you look for when trying to find a SFH to rent out? I know the 2% rule is popular but from what I've found online it doesn't seem like that is a reasonable goal. Also, what other things should I look for considering that I'd like to continue renting out my room once I graduate and move elsewhere?

[Andrea Proeber]

Lukas, you are so far ahead of your contemporaries already, congratulations! 

One of the best things is thinking outside of the box and not just doing what everyone else is doing. That will benefit you, don't try keeping up with the Joneses. 

I am in central Florida as well and love SFH'S for investment properties.

My recommendation is to look for ugly. Peeling wallpaper and lovely smell of cat urine is great! Carpeting is fairly easy especially to remove with all of our slab homes. Be sure to bleach the concrete a few times before replacing the flooring.

Look at the "bones" of the house, or the big ticket items, roofing, plumbing, electrical, hvac...these normally should be handled by licensed pros which means costly, but done incorrectly and it could cost a lot more. 

We have some awesome habitat for humanity restores down here that help cut costs even more for high quality low cost house repair items.

Do what you can yourself, but factor in mistakes as you learn, and your time. These are real equations.

Example: If it takes you 60 hours to do the flooring and at your job you get paid $10 an hour. When finished, the flooring looks good, but not necessarily pro quality. A buddy does flooring as his job, he says he will do it in 30 hours for $10 an hour and in the end it looks pro level...factor in your time. Also, the quicker it gets done, the sooner you can make money on it normally.

Also...youtube tutorials are great, but if you have ever seen "nailed it" scenarios...I promise, this is not nearly as easy as it looks.

I'll be in Orlando for the realtor conference in August, let me know if you want to grab Starbucks and talk rehab.

I normally have at least 2 home sites going at any given time. It's so addictive.

Andrea