Buying a home for appreciation or rental

[James Haffner]

Hey everyone, 

I just recently decided on growing my knowledge on real estate and starting to use my money for investing in real estate as a vehicle for passive income and financial growth. 

My GF and I almost closed on a fourplex that was going to cash flow $430.00 a month after all the expenses. Unfortunatly many issues on the home where not disclosed. When I found out about them it was too many red flags for me, so we backed out. 

We were going to use a VA loan to finance the property, giving us an extremely high rate of return for the cash we paid.

So now that the home fell through, we're a little curious on what to do. We can't find any properties that cash flow much( which is what our goal is). So were thinking of purchasing out of our area. Somewhere with a better rent to own value, where we can cash flow easier. 

Our other option is to purchase and live in the house until were out of the military, hoping the home will increase in value. We know a lot about the area including the fact that the population is about to spike due to military squadrons moving around, and our BAH going up. But IDK if I want to depend on that? 

What would an experienced investor suggest in the situation? 

Thank you Tony H. 

[Jay Hinrichs]

@James Haffner NW is a solid investment area does your VA loan have to be Owner occ. Like FHA.?.. if so buying the 4 plex to live in is a nice way to get started.. when and if you move on you own 4 doors. with a great long term fixed loan.. if it does nothing more than pays for itself in 10 to 15 years you will have forced equity and some appreciation that when you sell you can actually capture.

Much of the quote un Quote cash flow markets on the lower end are only appropriate for cash flow and for one to scale.. buying one or two does not make a lot of sense in my mind the risk reward just is not there. I think its much better to buy a prime west coast asset that you would hold for your entire lifetime until you wanted to cash out for retirement or whatever.

Or if your going to go into the cash flow markets do so as a business with a goal to get to 10 properties as fast as you can.. you will need that amount to income average.. AS cash flow areas are much tougher to manage than what you will experience with a prime West coast 4 plex.