Using VA home loan for first property

[Kaylyn Dart]

Hello everyone! 

My name is Kaylyn and I am very new to BiggerPockets. However, I think I have a pretty good sense of what is going on and how I can dive into this. I am currently 5 months out from EASing from the Marine Corps with the plan of attending college in Colorado Springs. I am planning to use the VA home loan to purchase my first home that I will live in while being a student at UCCS, however, I definitely want to rent it out after. Anyone in the local area that may be able to give me good suggestions on where to look? Good areas of purchase so it would be most appealing to a future resident? Or really just where to begin at all. I've never bought a home so I've never used the VA home loan. If anyone has anything for me, I'd greatly appreciate it!

[Trevor Kolb]

@Kaylyn Dart: Congrats on surviving the Marine life! Army Veteran myself, and living in Colorado Springs for the last 2 years. As for your questions, the VA home loan is a great financing option for us as mentioned by the other two but has trouble with the strict guidelines for the property conditions. You're essentially looking for a Move-In ready home with minimum or preferably NO repairs needed which can be a difficult task in itself.

As a beginning investor, figure out the best option for you. If you're comfortable living with others, house-hacking a 4 bedroom (SFH) with 3 roommates could be the way to go. (As a Marine, it's a lifestyle I'm sure you're used to by now) If you prefer privacy, the 4-plex would be a better route, but know that these are even more uncommon to find in VA qualifying condition in the area. Competition was tough last year when I closed on my first home (4-bed SFH; House-hacking Currently) between homes that would qualify, and people paying above asking price within days of a new listing. If you have the opportunity to start now, I strongly recommend it because of the delays, searching, questions, walk-thru's, bidding, waiting, paperwork, etc.

In terms of areas in Colorado Springs, the Southeastern part of town near the Airport appears to be the lower income area with more affordable housing (under $200k), and the closer to Monument (North-side) you go, the more you'll end up paying for a decent home.