Central Florida Market For Grad Student

[Jonathon Roach]

Hi All,

New to BP. I'm a computer scientist / amateur investor from Nashville, TN and I have a rental property in Murfreesboro, TN. I enjoy being a landlord, and I would love to buy more properties in the near future. I was recently accepted to study for my masters degree in Orlando FL (starting in August), and I want to know if it would be realistic for me to try to invest in real estate during my time as a grad student. 

Specifically, one of the ideas I had was to rent a house and negotiate an option to purchase after I graduate. For anyone who knows anything about the Central Florida market, does my idea sound feasible? Are there areas outside of Orlando (let's say within a 30 minute drive) where it might be easier to do what I want to do? My overall objective here is to find a way to keep the ball rolling in my real estate career despite putting my career as a programmer temporarily on hold. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.