I also have some hard money lenders available to me through personal relationships and a fairly large credit card line to finance some repairs.My step between now and #1 was buying a duplex.

hello everyone i am a 20 year old full time college student trying to succeed like many others.really interested on investing real state i know there are many ways and have been reading and researching about it. have gotten to the point where i want to put it to practice. the problem i have that is making me hesitate is how do i do this considering i have no money and no credit. what could be the easiest way or safest way for me to start?

There are many ways to pay PMI:- LPMI - lender paid MI which is a fancy term for taking a bit higher rate to absorb the cost of monthly MI for the life of the mortgage, depending on your credit score it may take .125%- .50% more in rate to absorb your entire premium for the life of your loan- BPMI single premium- similar to the above it eliminates the monthly MI premium for the life of the loan but BP part of BPMI stands for "borrower paid," so as you might have guessed the borrower pays this premium in a cash sum at closing either from their own funds or seller concessions they've negotiated from a seller or a gift from their giftors -BPMI monthly or split premium - MI can also be paid as monthly MI which is the stereotypical way to pay MI and it can also be paid as a split premium or hybrid whereby the borrower pays a good chunk upfront to have a greatly reduced monthly MI payment.Most people take LPMI and absorb it through the rate via LPMI to eliminate MI for the life of the loan. 

I do commercial only but learned some of these tips when I went to conference and talked with an older couple that had listed high end homes for 20 years.Good luck.     

Decent credit and a decent property is required, but if those things aren't hurdles (and they don't seem to be from what I've read), that would be a strategy to pursue.Stephanie

We aren't a bank, so we look at the property and credit.  

Hi Drew, any recommendations and or tips on the best way to take the courses, etc.  

Too often I have seen the true cost blurred by tax credit and other financial perks.

I have 20+ sF D, C and B propertiesI own several of these properties in my name, some in a LLC , some that I purchased with credit card debt and some that I own free and clear with no associated debt. 

@Len Roche my first loan was with Wells Fargo (back in 2009) then I talked to my brother-in-law about a loan he had on his investment property with American Airlines Credit Union.