This question just came in as a comment to the post “College Student House Buying Guide“.  Remember, the basic principles of this process involves borrowing (or earning) a down payment, finding a seller willing to sell their house on a land contract,  negotiate terms, buy the house, and then either rent it out to friends, live in it yourself, or both.

So the answer is absolutely!  However, you need to run your own numbers to make sure that you will be able to make payments to the seller.  All you need when you’re buying a house this way is a down payment, the ability to make the payments on the land contract, and the ability to convince the seller that you do not pose a credit risk and will be able to make the payments.  Some specifics might look like this:

You take your minimum wage job, save enough money for a down payment, buy the house, rent out one of the rooms, and use that income plus your wages to make payments on the land contract.  When you get a higher paying job, refinance the land contract with a bank and take advantage of some lower interest rates and potentially better payment terms.  It’s all about the specific numbers.

Will you be able to rent out any of the rooms?  How much are you paying for rent currently?  Are you paying rent out of your wages or do you have other sources of income such as stipends, scholarships, or student loans?  Let me know your specifics and we can start making a plan for you.