Your first move at 18-21 should be house hacking (buying a small multi-family and renting out units).

A couple strategies that could make sense for a younger person without experience could be a live-in flip or a house hack.

You can make house hacking work anywhere, really.

They should have also gotten approval from you before charging and doing repairs.

The house includes high-end upgrades such as custom cabinetry, granite countertops and energy efficient appliances.

It's something the wife and I are considering, mainly because our house flooded during covid and after the Austin ice storm. 

Quote from @Simone Montague-Jackson: You can house hack with up to four units.

Hey @Brad Roche - We do a significant amount of renovation loans (both Fannie May & FHA) here in Chicago and prefer the Homestyle loan only because it's less stringent on the borrow about what they have to repair, and they provide the general contractor a material draw at closing which helps the project start on the right foot.I thought the minimum down payment was 5%.

We bought a new primary house in November and had a rental contract on our old house that started Jan.1 2025. 

I found an area I felt comfortable living in and I bought a house with an FHA loan.