All Forum Posts by: Zachary Busekrus

Hi all!

I am a young, fresh-out-of-college millennial, but I worked full-time at a marketing agency all throughout college to pay my way through school. I have a decent salary (high above the average of my peers) and am very interested in real estate. While still VERY much a novice, in the past month have read Robert Kiyosaki's "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" and "Unfair Advantage" as well as Trump's "The Art of the Deal."

Here's my question: I have 10k in an Ally savings account (Ally is an online savings account with zero fees that gives you about a 1.5% APR). I am hoping to buy my first property in Q4 of 2019 or Q1 of 2020. I am wondering whether or not I should move this money into some sort of investment account (mutual fund?) in order to maximize my returns OR if I should keep it "safe" in an Ally account since this is my first time buying a home.

Kiyosaki is not a huge fan of "traditional" savings...and I get it! That said, this 10k is most of my savings...I'm willing to take a risk here (I'm very young in my career and currently have no dependents), but wanted to generate some feedback/thoughts from this wonderful community of smart investors before I do anything!

Thanks so much,

Zach 

@Russell Brazil -- Thank you for your feedback. As of now, I would like to start my real estate invest journey by buying my own property first in the area I live in (Northern Virginia). I have a lot to learn about what it takes to own/manage property and would like to be a bit more "hands-on" at the beginning. 

Question for you (and @Chris Seveney): Any thoughts on where the next Mosaic District will be? I currently live in Mosaic (Merrifield, VA) and it's growing like crazy...which means so is the price of my rent! I have a feeling that more "Mosaics" will be popping up around the DMV.

Thoughts? 

Zach 

Hi @Chris Seveney @Caleb Heimsoth @Korey Rowlson and @Logan Allec:

Wow! Thank you all for the quick response. To be honest, I had to Google "house hacking." I think the idea makes a lot of sense and is something I have recently begun looking into. Yes, FFX county is expensive and getting more expensive (and crowded) by the minute. @Chris Seveney I haven't thought too much about investing out of state — primarily because I think I would need to live in the home/apt/etc. for at least a year or so before I have enough cash to even consider buying/renting somewhere else. I'm not interested in moving away from the DC Metro Area at this point. That said, I am an amateur here! Perhaps it's worth considering investing in a different state without moving there? 

Thanks for your patience with this "newbee".

-Zach 

Hi all! My name is Zach and I am new to the BiggerPockets community. I recently graduated from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. I worked my way through school and was able to graduate with very little student debt. I currently work at a Marketing Agency in Fairfax making more money than most people my age (thanks to the four years of working at the agency prior to graduating college). 

Over the past couple of months I have read Robert Kiyosaki's books, Rich Dad, Poor Dad and Unfair Advantage as well as Donald Trump's Art of the Deal. I was greatly inspired by reading these books to learn more about real estate investment and how I can set myself up to begin my journey as a real estate investor as soon as possible. 

Here are some questions I have for you all — specifically those who have been in the business of real estate investing for 5-10 years:

1. What books do you recommend I read before purchasing my first property?
2. If I have $10,000 I want to invest in the next 6 months, what would you recommend I do? (Should I buy a foreclosed property, leverage my "first-time-home-buyer-card" and use it as a 5ish% downpayment on a townhome in the 200-300s, or save it in a high-yield savings account until I have another 10k?)
3. Is it worth buying a condo/townhome as your first property or are single-family homes often the best first investment property?

I look forward to your insights! 

-- Z