conversation: User (nettogewicht): "##### Background info\n\nHello, I’m a uni student who is graduating in November/December (i.e. no proper salary at least until then). With my part-time work on the weekends, I’ve amassed a small saving with which I’d like to try investing. Because of cheaper real estate prices in the US compared to Australia, and also because I’m possibly thinking about moving and working there in the future (generally higher wage for my profession), I’ve become interested in investing in the US.\n\n&amp;nbsp;\n\n##### My (I fear very unrealistic) hopes\n\nBasically I’ve thought of:\n\n**1. Moving properly to the US, get a job, get a loan, buy a house**\n\n**2. Buy a small (&lt;1 acre) lot and hold on to it and sell it at a higher price in a few years or so**\n\n**3. Buy a small lot (see 2.) and build a microhome on it, rent it out for Airbnb, then sell it in a few years**\n\nI think option 1 Is ideal but it’ll happen later than all the other options as I’d have to graduate, move and get a job. So I’ve been thinking about options 2 and 3, and I’ve set myself a budget limit of 10,000-12,000 AUD (just around half of my savings so far). \n\n&amp;nbsp;\n\n##### My many questions!\nIs this realistic at all? I’ve seen small rural lots on websites like [zillow.com](http://zillow.com) that are going for less than 5,000 USD. Will these be useful to build on or to hold on to and sell in the future? Big hurdles for me include the fact that I’m not 100% familiar with American geography and culture (e.g. what people like to do during holidays – *Parent Trap*, anyone?); I’m also not in a position to travel to and from the US frequently (*maaaaybe* once a year..). I’m also unsure about additional taxes for property ownership in America.\n\nAs much as I’d like to go with option 1, I want to try investing in now, even if the profit may be small. I also want to know more about legal hurdles but I’m guessing those are questions aren’t for this subreddit. All I’ve uncovered so far is that I’d need to apply for ITIN to buy property in the US as a foreigner.\n\n&amp;nbsp;\n\nIf you could answer any of the questions or even just give some tips on property ownership in the US, it’d be great! If ALL of my options are totally unrealistic, what are some of the ways I can get into the US property market? Thanks for your help!"
  Self: "You may find these links helpful:\n\n- ["How to handle $"](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/commontopics)\n- [Investing](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/investing)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns.*"
  