WHAT?  Am I kidding?  NO, I am not!  The single biggest expense that many will face when raising their kids is college or some form of higher education.  If you have toddlers or young children now, between the ages of 2 to 5, by the time they go to school, a four- year education could easily exceed $100,000!

So, here’s a thought for all young parents.  When your kids are small think about buying an investment property. It doesn’t have to be much of one.  It could be a fixer-upper, an older home, or even a small condo.  Investing in real estate will bring a much higher return than money in a savings account or participating in a pre-paid college program.

 With rental properties currently asking high rent payments, you could have someone else paying the mortgage for 15 to 18 years.  When it comes time to sell for college expenses, tuition fees will be covered several times over.  Better yet, you can sell and buy another property in the town where your child goes to school and this would save thousands on college housing. 

We are now in a buyer’s market where there is much more inventory, more seller concessions and some bargains to be had in the right area.  Real estate will give one of the highest returns on investment if held long term and sold at the right time.  There are many unique mortgage programs right now to assist homebuyers in both residential and investment homes, so there might be some creative ways to help make this happen for you. 

This idea will certainly not work for everyone, but for some it just might be a great opportunity that was not even considered.  With market changes happening rapidly these days, who knows where we will be in the future?