All Forum Posts by: Jeffrey Lester

Thanks, guys! I'll make sure to look into those books and authors. BiggerPockets is awesome. It's amazing that there's this big of an online community for REI. It'll definitely help a ton!

Gorgeous layout. Seriously, give a round of applause to the BiggerPockets web devs and design team! 

And, of course, give a round of applause to @Brandon Turner and @Joshua Dorkin for being such awesome guys.

Hey, BiggerPocketers! 

My name is Jeff, and I'm headed to college next year. I was prepared to jump the gun this summer and take a shot at flipping a house, but then I realized that I have no experience, little knowledge, little money, little credit, and literally zero chance of getting a bank loan. 

So, I figured that the best way to start would be to learn (I'm sure many of you would agree).

What are the best ways to learn, in your opinion? I'm listening to the BP podcast, participating on the site, reading books, and trying to do mock-up property analyzations. My primary interests are buy-n-holds, starting with single-family homes in the (hopefully) near future. Eventually, I want to move up to commercial real estate - particularly apartment complexes and hotels (yes, that is a ways down the line!).

Also, does anyone have book suggestions for me? I'm going to be a bookworm this summer. 

Thanks guys. As always, it is much appreciated!

@John E. Hey, John!

I have thought about house flipping and wholesaling. I'm regards to wholesaling, I have read a few blogs that say it's much harder than it is made out to be, but I still think it's possible. If I am able to engage in any real estate endeavors in college, wholesaling is probably the most realistic avenue. Also, I have thought about house flipping. I think it would be extremely fun, but I still run into the issue of having a very limited number of ways to finance deals (that's the nice thing about wholesaling, there's really no "financing" involved).

If I do buy a house, I'll most likely have to opt for a lease option. I'm definitely going to look into wholesaling and possibly work with a house flipper this summer in order to learn the basics. There are so many streets to travel down in REI, it's honestly difficult to figure out which one I want to do most!

Thanks for your suggestions, John. :-)

@Loren Whitney @Pyrrha Rivers @Leigh C Thank you all for your responses! This thread really picked up speed and I'm absolutely thrilled to have all of this advice coming in.

Honestly, the number one reason I want to buy a property in college so bad is to gain experience. I feel like most people in this field gain experience in their mid-20s/early-30s, and gaining experience now would offer me a tremendous advantage. However, after reading everyone's thoughts, and after reading multiple blogs/forums about young property ownership, I've definitely noticed a trend of people regretting their decisions. Whether it was because they simply could not afford the property, something went wrong, or their own hubris got in the way, a lot of young investors regretted their decisions. I think, perhaps, that the best course of action during my college career is to expand my knowledge of REI through books, BP, and hopefully a mentor that I can find during my four years at the University of Montana, and also by saving my money for investments soon after graduation. After all, that is when I'll be able to lock down a job that pays me (hopefully) around $60,000/year, which would be a great salary to provide me with surplus funds to invest.

I thank you all again for your wonderful comments. Many of them were eye-opening. I know I haven't actually "started" in REI, but learning about it and realizing the immense opportunities of it have me convinced that this is the path I am going to follow in order to reach my success. I've always wanted to be successful, and definitely not by being a doctor or high-paid accountant, but by owning my own assets, whether it be a business or real estate. I can tell you now, I am simply ecstatic about the future! I know it's going to be good :-)

Thanks again,

Jeff

@Jean Bolger Yes, prices are quite high. I think that's due to the university and the large amounts of tourism to the town. I will most likely have to either find a lease option or save my money to get started right after college! I'm just very eager to start.

@Account Closed I just don't want to get my parents involved. I'm not comfortable with them taking on any risk with me! I appreciate the suggestion, though!

@Jean Bolger Even though I don't want to believe it, I'm totally aware of the extra fees and costs :-) That's why my goal would be to have the tenant pay the mortgage plus a small amount to cover other fees and give me a small amount to put into an emergency fund.

Believe me, though, I still have lots of learning to do! But the good news is that I've got about 14 months to learn and network before I go through with such a deal, if I can even make it possible. I just think that it would be such a great way to get started, and it would also be a great way to reduce my living expenses by about $3000/semester!

To answer your question, I am going to Missoula! The market is fairly expensive (a little more than my hometown), but the good news is that rentals are almost always full due to the ~12,000 students living there. I haven't actually talked to any investors from that area, but that is a vital step in this whole process.

@Damon Armstrong That's alright, man! No problem at all.

@Brian Gibbons I would do that, but my parents have already said that they do not want to partake in any risk associated with what I do. Plus, I would feel terrible if things went wrong and I brought my parents into it. I could, however, look for other investors. Although I would not be making an initial cash flow, after 3 years of mortgage payments and appreciation the property would have some nice equity on it. Also, if the investor chose to keep the property they could make a monthly cash flow.

@Damon Armstrong I just did some quick reading. It looks like you need a certain debt to income ration, which I would not meet because of college. My "income" during school will probably be less than $800 per month.

@Damon Armstrong I have, actually! That's the loan I plan to use for my first property out of college once I have a job that is gives a decent income. I'm fairly certain you need an annual income of at least $20,000, and so I wouldn't qualify. I haven't read the fine print, but I think it would be extremely difficult for me to qualify for such a loan - but I will sure look into it more! Thanks for the tip!