New real estate investor advice

[Will Newmiller]

Good evening,

Active duty military here and resident of south eastern NC (Wilmington area). Really looking to get started on buying my first property. I currently own my home it is a $300,000 SFH with an interest rate of 6.25% I bought this 250 days ago with the VA loan. My question is how do I get started on buying property in my area? I am eligible to re finance my VA loan and use that. I currently have about $30,000 in savings for this purchase. Any guidance on getting started or where to look would be great

[Jonathan Taylor Smith]

Hi @Will Newmiller - I bought my first 3 properties with conventional 20% down loans, using funds from my business and loans from my wife's TSP. But then I was tapped out on access to funds, so I switched to creative means, obtaining the next 3 properties via lease-options. And thankfully, by the time I needed to execute on those options and actually complete the purchase of the leased properties, I had developed some private lender relationships that allowed me to complete those 3 transactions and several more thereafter. Now private lenders are my main purchase method, along with seller financing and BRRRR.