Active Duty Military REI | New to REI World

[Mark Torrefiel]

Hi everyone! I'm new to the REI world, currently living in Elizabeth City, NC while working in Norfolk, VA as an active duty Sailor in the USN. In two months, I will be changing duty stations to San Diego, CA. I've done 14 years active duty and 8 moves both nationwide and overseas.

I currently have one home that I am slated to rent out in the next three weeks and a town home that is currently being built and will be rented out by September. Currently seeking MFH opportunities in the San Diego region for owner occupation with room for growth in the form of rehab and ADU.

My wife and I also own two condominiums in Manila, Philippines that are near completion. Our target for one condo is STR and LTR for the other one. Currently working on expanding our investments in and around the Manila region.

My goal is to grow my portfolio in SFH, MFH, and commercial real estate. I am currently seeking GP opportunities in commercial real estate; open to residential, mobile home, development, self-storage, mixed use, or any unique opportunities. Seeking to grow net worth and cash flow in the next 6 years.

[Dan H.]

Buying in San Diego county at retail is a long term investment. The returns initially are poor. If using high LTV loan and legit underwriting, the purchase will have negative initial cash flow. In addition, the city of San Diego has very unfriendly to LL tenant laws. Rent control more extreme than the statewide rent control. STR quota. The most strict COVID eviction moratorium in the country.

However, for long holds there are few markets that have historically done better.  It is virtual guarantee that a RE purchase looks great at 10 years.  Our appreciation and rent growth is near top of nation virtually every year.  We have bp near lowest late payment, missed payment, and eviction rate in the country.  this is largely because we have crazy low vacancy rate.  When we screen, we will not accept you if you have ever been evicted.  We require strong LL referrals and state this requires more than paying your rent on time.  We want your unit to appear like it would if you were owning it and not renting it.  Do we have issues finding tenants with such strict requirements?  We usually get our tenant from our first open house (but we write our leases such as none expire Oct thru February). 

In summary you need to be committed for the long term which can get tough when rent barely covers PITI at purchase and you get a large cap expense. It could be easy to get frustrated and want to sell.

Good luck