Need Advise From Investors!

[Joye Bounthavy]

Hey everyone,

Loving this site, everyone is really helpful and there is so much useful information given by BP members. Anyways, down to the nitty-gritty.

I'm pretty new to the real estate investing game and I have a lot to learn but I'm trying to dive in head first so here is what I've done so far.

1. Got a pre-approval from Quicken Loans for $200k with a VA loan.

2. Have a Real Estate Agent that has given me access to the MLS.

3. Looked at (Driven by) houses all over Miami (Homestead, Little Haiti, Liberty City, Miami Gardens, Hollywood, Kendall, Miami Lakes). I've also done the analysis on some of the houses and I barely break even.

The problems come at that step. I can't find a house that fits the criteria given by the VA loan (basically livable), that fits the price range, meets the analysis of at least cash flowing $100/property and isn't in the hood. I wouldn't mind living in a ghetto neighborhood but I understand it will be hard to find good tenants willing to live there. I'm trying to get a move on so I can start my investing career!

My short term goal is to purchase a property for buy and hold purposes and to house hack that property for about a year while buying other properties. The thing is that I'm stuck and it seems almost impossible to find the right place here. I'm thinking about moving to another state and buying a property there. The States I've been thinking about is Colorado, Georgia, or the Carolina's but I'm open to hear what other places are good for a newbie like me. Do you guys have any suggestions on where to move or do you think I should just stay here and keep pushing through?

TL;DR I'm a new investor and I'm debating on moving out of Miami and finding a State to start my career. Also willing to stay in Florida. Any suggestions? Thank you all.

[Jared Viernes]

Joye Bounthavy I don't know your particular situation for pre-approval and your career situation. But if you plan on moving and leaving a previous career and don't have any other regular income that will have a major negative affect on your approval. Most lenders want to see 2 years of continuous employment; if you quit and move then the likelihood of getting financing is very low.