Trying to break into real estate investment

[Jason Bolden]

Hello everyone!

This will be my first post to BP. Just a little background about myself. I just paid off my student loans as this time last year. Since I've been saving more than I know what to do with I've been itching to put my money to use. My sister has told me in the past I should increase my 401k contribution, but since my company is already matching fully I feel that I can do more with the extra income. 

I started thinking about real estate recently because the lease for my current apartment will be up in just over half a year, and my roommate doesn't want to resign. A colleague of mine told me about how she's paying off her mortgage by renting out the spare bedrooms in her home. This concept intrigued me and long story short I found BP.

As for the property analysis, I'm looking into my first deal. Seeing as I don't have much in the bank and I still need to find a place to live next year, I'm partial to house hacking a "du,tri,quad"plex in the DFW area. I came across this quad in 76179, and if I can get the price down I feel like it could be a good deal. Living in one of the units ( though this is not ideal for me commute-wise) is also an option and if I'm not mistaken this would allow me to put down a lower DP. Taxes and Insurance are quoted from Zillow, so I'm not even sure if those are accurate.

I come to you guys as I've only been reading up on the subject for the past week. I've never made a purchase this large and it's very intimidating. Any advice on whether this property is worth while, financing options, and next steps would be greatly appreciated.