What is my roadmap, discussion to getting started.

[Jacob Humiston]

Hello,

BLUF: Buying first house, using VA loan, read books and continuing to do so on real estate investing. Looking to do buy & hold. Not sure what follow on steps after buying the house are.

Background:

I am paying 2k/month in rent for a apartment, I recently read rich dad poor dad, think and grow rich, The beginners guide to investing, the richest man in Babylon, and moving into The Millionaire Fastlane. These motivated me to quit doing what i was doing and conduct a lifestyle switch. Buying a home after 2 months of reading these books meant I have little capital for a downpayment which is why the VA loan was a blessing. I have found 11 houses I am interested in, 4/11 cashflowed. 2/4 have become contingent since i did the analysis. Im wondering how i go about moving forward after I purchase the initial house that I have to live in for a year.

After I buy my first house, I have to live there for a year before I can rent it, after that year?

1. Do I stay in my first house and buy another home after a year

2. Do I move every year to avoid investment property taxes? (The GF is not on board with moving every year...decorating)

Based on the houses I am looking at, I will save at least 1k/month on rent because my GF will be moving with me. Ill consider her a tenant to get the landlord experience. Thoughts on considering this 1k/month as "Cashflow" and use it to save for the downpayment of the next property?

[Chace Fraser]

@Jacob Humiston the VA loan is an incredible product that will allow you to get into a property with very little money (if any) out of pocket. What you could do with that $1,000 cash flow is save up for your next property and use your FHA loan to purchase it. Then, once you have enough equity in the property with the VA loan, you could refi out of it and then have your VA loan available to you to use again.

As you probably know, for the most part, like a VA loan, you can only have one FHA mortgage in your name at one time. There are exceptions that are few and far between (like if you were moved to another area by your work), but for the most part it's only possible to have one at a time. If two people are on the same FHA loan, then this counts as their one FHA loan.

One strategy, that my wife and I are employing, is to leapfrog who is on the loan. How this would work is one person would buy the first property with their FHA loan, and then when you're ready to purchase the second property, the other person could purchase it with their FHA loan. Yes, this does present the challenge of both individuals needing to be able to qualify for a loan on their own, but it's a great way to do it. Then, when it's time to purchase the third property, you could refi out of the first FHA loan (if you have enough equity), and then use your FHA loan again, or use a conventional loan product.

This strategy is not without its challenges. One person must be able to qualify for a loan on their own. It works well in Oregon because we’re a personal property, not community property, state. This means that when one of us goes to get an individual loan, the bank will not look at the other person's debts/liabilities.

Game Planning for multiple house hacks can get a little tricky. I have a lender that I work with who's an investor herself and incredible at creating strategies to move forward on your next purchases (she helped us devise our strategy outlined above). If you'd like me to connect you with my lender (she's licensed in all 50 states) send me a DM.