You made it through college! Postgrad life can be quite a challenge for some. Many fresh graduates are not sure which career option they want to pursue and spend years of their life trying to figure it out. Others are as sure as they could be about life after college. Today, more and more fresh graduates are considering real estate investing as their career choice. What’s great about real estate investing is that it’s a career choice suitable for people of all ages and people from all walks of life. If you’re reading this blog, it means that you’ve figured out what you want to do with your life and have made the smart choice to buy an investment property.
Research, read, and know the real estate market
You have to know what you’re doing when you buy an investment property. Research includes knowing real estate investing in general and market specifics on a more explicit scale. As an investor, it’s important for you to be able to conduct comparative market analysis and rental property analysis for more specific results. There are several ways to conduct real estate market analysis when you buy an investment property. Today’s technology has especially made tasks easier for real estate investors. Tools like a heatmap, rental property calculator, and real estate comps have advanced research and analysis in the real estate world. Mashvisor is just one of many online resources available for real estate investing for beginners. Mashvisor’s real estate analysis tools break down everything from cities to properties to neighborhoods to make investing in real estate as easy as it could be.
To learn more about how we will help you make faster and smarter real estate investment decisions, click here.
Related: 2018’s Guide to Investment Property Research at Your Fingertips
Get connected and build your real estate network
There’s nothing more helpful than knowing someone who can help out with the decision to buy an investment property, especially when you’re getting started in real estate. Dedicating your time during college and post-graduation to cultivating contacts is very important. After all, your real estate investing career is an extension of your college career and overall experience. Your connections can be people you ask a simple question to mentors who guide you throughout your investing career.
The real estate market is full of experienced real estate investors who can help you in your choice to buy an investment property and devise rental strategies. So make sure to get well acquainted and connected with these like-minded investors. You never know when you’ll need to pick up the phone and ask for another investor’s help!
Connections are also important in case you were considering real estate partnerships. Partnerships can actually be a good idea for beginner real estate investors. Partners can not only help you out financially, but they can also contribute their resources, expertise, as well as network.
Consider real estate investment partnerships
A real estate investment partnership gives you the opportunity to buy an investment property with the help of a partner. Partnerships are, in fact, among the most popular real estate investment strategies. What’s great about real estate investment partnerships is one word: sharing. Mortgage payments, interest costs, expenses, property management, and different responsibilities are all shared among partners. This decreases the risks that come when you buy an investment property.
And while real estate partnerships can be a great way to buy an investment property right after graduation, they can be tricky. Some risks that may come with real estate partnerships include tax complications, disagreements among partners, time lags, profit distribution, legal issues, among others. Because of this, make sure you establish and sign a real estate investment partnership agreement. This should include each partner’s financial contribution, the division of tasks and responsibilities, profit and cost allocation, among other pointers.
Related: Real Estate Partnerships Are Not All Roses: Beware of These 7 Potential Traps
Save money to make money
This is the most important step when you want to buy an investment property. Getting into real estate requires capital, especially in today’s pricey markets nationwide. Many cities have become rather unaffordable especially for many beginner investors. Throughout your college years, you should try to save as much as you can. Cut back on unnecessary expenses. Make a list of things you can save money on, as opposed to essential expenses. Figure out what you need and what you don’t need to be spending money on. Making money in real estate should become your new priority.
Nonetheless, even if you don’t have enough saved up, don’t worry – you can still buy an investment property with little or no money using different real estate investing strategies. You can look into owner occupancy, hard money loans, private money loans, lease-buy option, partnerships, or the many other ways.
Related: Want to Know How to Buy Rental Property with No Money Down?
Finally, make sure to continually check your finances and always plan ahead. You should know how much your investment property costs, how you will pay for it, how you’ll manage your mortgage payments, and how you will keep up with common and everyday costs. This will not only help you organize your finances but will ultimately be the means for you to save money. Getting organized with your finances will show you where you’re spending too little or too much, which will help you save money to make money in real estate.
To sum up on buying an investment property right after graduation…
Choosing to buy an investment property right after graduation is a very smart endeavor. It can be challenging, especially to a fresh graduate and a beginner real estate investor with little real estate investing experience. It’s important though, to remember that many of these challenges are common to most real estate investors. But at the end of the day, as any other career, real estate investing is a process. And once you’ve had some experience with owning an investment property, you may even be able to invest in multiple properties. Until then, stay as diligent as you can be with your research, work, and finances.
And most importantly, happy investing!