SDSU sophmore looking to house hack

[Jackson Fairbanks]

I'm 19 and have recently been enlightened by the opportunity of investing in property. I found equity in my current address in norcal. I am looking to reinvest this money by house hacking a home near campus as I will be living there for 3 more years. Due to my lack of experience in real estate, as well as in that area I have many questions regarding my plan and would appreciate any input.

Is it in my best interest to pay a premium through an agent? Or would there be realistic opportunity cold calling hence current market conditions?

This property will be my first and I have a lot of time, so how worried should I be regarding cash flow on the property? I am pretty confident that the value of the house will steadily increase, but would it be efficient to lose cash flow at the cost of a good location near the campus? or is SD gonna be constant tenants and constant increase in value without much matter on location?

Thanks again, I highly value anyone's input.