Hello everyone, I am new to Real estate investing and I am particularly interested in student housing in Waco TX-due to the affordability (for me) of the prices of the properties in Waco. 

Their system is pretty good and I like it. 

Yes, I've done my fair amount of research and reading whatever I could get my hands on and I think House-hacking is definitely the most realistic goal to set for me early on.

Honestly if you are never planning on moving back to the house (or the area), you are not going to cash flow especially after you add in insurance, repairs and maintenance (assuming property taxes are part of your mortgage).You have a friend willing to buy it off market-double check fair market value and sell it to them.My understanding is I would pay zero in Capital Gains because it was my primary residence and I lived there for over 2 years.

I learned this the hard way not too long ago.I invest in similar areas and I do use leverage to buy properties but I have starting using the techniques that I mention above, keep a good cash reserve, and I am more aggressive on the debt paydown than on assets that have good appreciation.

As of 8.18.2020 my partner and I are under contract on a 64-unit in Missouri. 

I personally think it's easier to get a general contractor's license (especially here in Chicago - it's almost sad how easy it is), but that just means there are a lot of bad contractors.Almost all states require architects to take a state licensing exam and need to have a bachelors degree in similar field to even take the test.I found for me, if I can just find people who are really good at what they do (and enjoy it) I can let them do that and I can just focus on finding deals and building the team.  

Instead, a partner and I, who is a contractor, purchased (3) vacant lots in a fully-developed single family neighborhood on the southside of town.

@Jason Wray Thanks for the response - this is a portfolio add to my partner and I's holding LLC.

My wife and I started out self-managing all of our properties.