Putting down 20% or any other amount doesn’t change the quality of the deal. There is a cost to that downpayment and ignoring that cost doesn’t eliminate it.
Mike
Yes quality and cost of the deal is important but when talking cashflow the amount you put down changes the cashflow. If its a no money down deal then 100-200/mo is not bad but with the banks wanting 20% down you may want to set your expectations a little higher. (im talking standard residential SFH or townhouse)
In light of all the responses: Sorry to say but I am kinda just as confused as when I started this thread.
I’m only asking because I’m trying to get the best sense of what I’m looking at before I start and I don’t want to have to learn expensive mistakes and all that stuff most people end up having to learn on their own
Again my likes:
Career in real estate so something that gets me lots of experience on a resume or just something that would be great head start for a business would be awesome (probably am majoring in business or economy)
No need for money in the next 5 years
Have 3 months of free time before next semester
Looking for long term investments with lower risk. But will not shun at a little higher risk (comon I play poker!)
Looking for investments that don’t eat up a lot of time because I’ll already be working (aka would love to work smart not hard)
I really like real estate and would like nothing more than to enjoy it as a hobby and make good money off of it. I would love to become one of those successful entrepreneurs you guys say to look out for at the REI club meetings. I just fall victim to this nicely stated ANALYSIS PARALYSIS (whether that is a good or a bad thing) and it keeps me from getting my feet wet.
Anyways put yourselves in my shoes with my interests mentioned earlier: WHAT WOULD YOU DO???
thanks for the help guys, this thread is solving a lot of problems for me such as what is my motive to get involved in the first place, just more problems needed to be solved so I can figure out what the heck to do with myself :smile
just go do it dude. once you get one your addicted! (btw, are you saying you can put real estate investing on your resume? I never even thought about that…)
Yea. I will invest in real estate for my own purposes but I figured it could do well as part of a resume and possibly even take the place of normal internships (assuming I go into a real estate field of business)
If you can’t decide, I will decide something to do with your money and time.
HAHA
Seriously, I will flip a coin for you or something.
Not sure why no one has suggested this possibility to you. How about arranging a free place to stay?
You said you’re in college? You live on-campus or off? If on campus, do you plan to live off campus in the future? Instead of renting, why not buy a 3 or 4 bedroom townhouse or maybe a duplex w/3 or 4 bedrooms per side. Pick out one bedroom to be yours and rent out the rest to fellow students. Structure the deal, financing, and rents so that the renting students at the minimum cover the PITI (principle, interest, taxes, & insurance), a reserve for repairs, and maybe some monthly cash flow. When you’re done w/college, you’ll hopefully have some equity with the loan paid down (with the rent payments!), hopefully some appreciation – sell the property to another younger enterprising student like a younger you looking to do the same thing – and get your money & profits out to decide again how to use the money in your REI biz! After completing that little exercise, you’ll be experienced at buying & selling rental property, landlording, property management, and, yes, investing in real estate! You’ll have a much better idea of which aspects you like and don’t like and will have a much better handle on which direction to go from there! :cool
Great idea from GHInvest! What are you paying for your housing now? Living free should always be a goal. Take care of your own roof first and you have invested right.
Now you need to start doing research on your area. Look at properties, crunch those numbers, and log in for expert investor advice. Shut off the Wii, get off the couch and get going. (Sorry, but I am visualizing my college-age son!).
Furnishedowner
I really like the idea presented. However I am saving up a LOT of money this summer to simply put a down payment on my own house. But a triplex or whatever is pretty much next up on my list of things to-do. I think at this point I just really need to get going with something that will get my feet wet. I think I’ve gotten the most suggestions for a “go for it” attitude as long as I’m educated.
hey money,
You said you play poker.
What do you play?
TExas holdem?
Omaha?
Black jack?
etc…
Texas Holdem
Ah my favorite game!
You ever played in the WPT or WSOP?
Nah. I play cash games online. I try a tournament every now and then but they aren’t really my game. U?
I thought about playing cash online but dont know yet.
Supposedly a friend of mine who plays pokers says her son banks 1k sometimes just playing.
So its tempting.
Which poker site do you frequent (so I can avoid it :help)
I thought about going into the satellite games to play in the tournies but I dont have time. here in my area they have them sometimes but starting at 1pm on a wednesday . (-__-)
I play ultimate bet. I will say this however, real estate and poker are the same to this respect: you hear glory stories here and there, but its so much more than that. Poker, just like real estate, is won with studying and work.
Oh and by the way, have friends that are good at whatever you are doing and it makes your progress infinitely easier
Sweet so we can be buddies and you can show me some texas holdem tips. :beer
I used to go to my local bar and play the tournies and won second place once …sooo close to first place out of 10 tables :banghead
So have you decided what to do???