I'm a student the University of Louisville and I'm debating trying to buy a house in the area. Essentially, instead of paying rent, I would be paying a mortgage. I currently only have about $5k saved that I could use for a down payment.
The plan would be to live in one bedroom and rent out the other bedrooms to college students. I think that would take care of most of the mortgage.
Then I could leverage the equity I've built in that house to buy a duplex after college. Then I would rent out the entire house and one side of the duplex.
Is this a reasonable goal or will it be impossible to get a loan with my almost non-existent income?
I know I can put estimated rental revenue as income, but I'm not sure if I would qualify.
I'm also not sure if buying a house at my age (21) is the right move.
I have a paid internship, so my income is decent for a college student, but not large by any means.
Would it be better to keep my focus on the stock market? I'm trying to diversify my portfolio and asset allocation.
Any insights?