Buying a multi-family complex

[Matthew Ramage]

Hello everyone, I currently just started thinking about owning a multi-family complex for around 10-20 units. I want to buy property around Fort Campbell which is in Clarksville, TN because I know Soldiers get BAH and the area will always have personnel flowing in and out. Can anyone give me some advice on what to research? I'm completely new to this and would like a long term investment for retirement purposes. Should I use the VA loan to purchase the complex? My plan so far since I'm still in the service is to hire a PM because I will be out of state. I have ten years left before I can retire from the Military, and would like have the property close to if not paid off for before I retire to have consistent profits. Is this plan even reasonable? I plan on buying if everything works out within six months. Thanks for any information you can give.

[John Warren]

@Matthew Ramage you are on the right track with your goals. You will probably want to read up a bit on commercial financing as it is very different from residential financing. You can use your VA loan on a building up to four units, but once you hit five units you will have to finance with a commercial lender. This typically means putting down 20-30% depending on your goals and depending on your lender.

You also would need to look for properties very differently than if you are in the 1-4 unit range. In the residential space, a good realtor can help you find properties on the MLS. Once you jump to commercial, you may have to network with multiple brokers to find find the inventory as most of it does not make it online.