Because a tenancy is  the right to have a roof over your head and the protections in law that go with it is also valuable to the tenant and for many it is a priority obligation.Because the tenant cannot abscond with your house in the same way that they can abscond with money you've lent them.Because a credit report cannot tell you whether the tenant is destructive or anti-social and last but not least but above all elseA tenancy is not a loan of money.

I came across BP while doing some research and ran across this posting that caught my attention:http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2013/02/09/how-to-start-investing-real-estate-young/I came across this article because I googled searched just that "How to get into real estate at a young age."

That should be painful enough to discourage using your ira if you aren't of age.

While schools can be VERY important if your property is family oriented (3+ bedrooms, large yard, etc), it can be far less important if your house is in a retirement community, is a studio or a 1 bedroom, is a trendy "tiny house", is in a work/live space, is right downtown and close to night-life or is otherwise more geared to those without children or who are "pre-child" or "post-child".I have many friends who are either empty-nesters or who are middle-aged and childless that just love finding funky houses, close to the stuff they think is cool and who never even know where the nearest school is, much less know or care how they perform.

Being such a young age (as am I), I would try to house-hack to get your feet wet and live for free..

Renter occupied: 41 % Population: 46,557 Vacancy rate: 6.1 % Median household income: $33,986 Monthly rent affordability: $849 Crime rate index: Violent: 4, Property: 5 (1-lowest, 5-highest) Ethnicity: White (92 %) , Black (4 %) , Hispanic (3 %) Age groups: Under 18 (24 %), 25 to 34 (16 %), 35 to 44 (14 %) Education: High School (49 %) , College (8 %) , Graduate School (4 %)

This is the Los Angeles police department telling her this, from arguably one of the most anti-gun areas of the Unites States....

In anti-deficiency states, lenders do not have as much leverage.

The lord will heap back upon them the full weight of their overpriced properties and cast them into a sea of short sales and bankruptcy.A new age will dawn.

I am 58 and many my age have cash and income and would just as soon take the benefit of lower interest and short pay-offs to build equity.