Moving Military Family - VA Loan, Licensing, BRRRR and Flipping

[Myranda Birch]

Hi there,

I'm pretty new to Bigger Pockets, but have been doing a lot of research on the forums and blog posts sections of the site and have listened to over a dozen of the podcasts. Still in the learning phase and just starting to get my feet wet!

Was hoping to get some advice from you all...My husband and I really want to start getting into real estate investing, however, we have a semi-unique situation as he is in the military and we move to a new base every 2 or 3 years (usually a different state).

Our goal is to invest in buy and hold properties (use the BRRRR strategy) or flip and sell the houses we buy depending on the situation. We bought a home in California's Bay Area last year using a VA loan at 4.25%, paid $2,500 over the appraised value, and plan to rent it out when we move in 2 years. We've made a lot of updates to the house and I've heard people talk about refinancing/re-appraising and using the money to get a second loan and buy more investment properties. I was wondering if anyone could give more insight to the VA loan and if that's even possible in our situation.

Also, I would ideally like to get my real estate license, but because we move every 2 or 3 years, I'm not sure if it's worth it. We're looking to move to Michigan next, but we both grew up and have family in Wisconsin. Our military commitment probably won't be up until 2025. Would you recommend getting my license in any one state in particular, or not at all and just using a real estate agent instead? I know the requirements are different for every state also. Likewise, would you recommend investing in any one state in particular, investing everywhere we go, or maybe trying to invest in Wisconsin since that's where all our connections are? I understand knowing the market you're investing in is extremely important, but I believe with our connections and during our time in each location, we have the ability to immerse ourselves in each market and learn about the area.

We would like to get started sooner than later, but just put a lot of our resources into our current house. Would love to connect with some of you and hear how you've been able to do business in the (expensive) northern California region!

Thanks so much in advance!

Myranda