G.I. Bill Investing w/ VA Loan (Portland, OR)

[Benjamin Kirkpatrick]

Hello all,

Just wanted to post on here to get some feedback from the community.

So, I'm currently living in Portland, OR and attending school full-time using the G.I. Bill. I receive a monthly housing allowance (which technically doesn't count as earned income) and am working part-time.

My goal is to purchase a property within the next year or less (preferably multifamily or single-family) using the VA Loan. Ideally, I'd like to implement the BRRRR strategy or house-hack to live for free (or as little as possible) throughout college. Then, as time progresses, purchase another property and so on.

Anyhow, my original plan of applying for the traditional VA loan isn't quite feasible, since my housing allowance doesn't count as earned income.

I'm just curious, what would you do in this situation?

I've considered getting a full-time job in order to have proof of income for loan approval purposes, or utilizing an FHA loan or some other strategy to get into the game. Likewise, I've thought about teaming up with a friend to pool money together for a down payment, but that could take awhile.

P.S. If anyone is in the Portland market/surrounding area, I'd love to get to know you and help out any way possible. Just looking to provide value and connect with like-minded individuals!

Thanks in advance,

Ben