VA Loan Purchase for Overwhelmed Newbie

[Ann Yager]

I’ve overwhelmed myself and would appreciate some feedback. I’m considering the purchase of a residence with a “little home” out back, all on 6 acres. My plan is to live in the main home and rent out the little one. I currently live in a small condo I could either sell or rent.

I do not have a large down payment so need to be creative. One option I have would be the restoration of my VA loan by borrowing $, from family?, to pay off my condo which I purchased with a VA loan initially. I could then use the VA loan again to finance the new home, although I'm not sure I could find a lender who would qualify me for the new loan as my DTI ratio would not look good for such an expensive home. My salary is not large. However, I would be able to rent the condo once it is paid off.

Another option would be to sell the condo outright and use the equity to put a 6% down payment on the home and still use the VA loan. I wouldn't have the rental income from the condo but might qualify for a loan.

I know ther are other options out there to make this work, I’m just not experienced enough to see them. I’ve been reading and listening to everything I can get my hands on about real estate investing but am a complete novice. I would really like to plunge into the game and not overanalize but I want to make sound decisions. If you have any suggestions, I would really value your comments.