New member from Charlotte, NC area

[Chad Thomas]

Hi folks! My name is Chad Thomas and I'm new to BP and to Real Estate investing also. I'm from Kannapolis, NC (just north of Charlotte). I work for Wells Fargo in Retirement Technology as an IT Support Manager (supporting the 401k line of business). Been with the bank for about 17 years. Before that, I served almost 10 years in the US Navy. I have always had an interest in Real Estate investing but just recently decided to learn more. My wife and I attended a 3 day seminar in Charlotte a few weeks back just to start building a foundation and figure out what direction we might pursue. It was quite an interesting experience but overwhelmed a little toward the end (with the up selling pressure). We didn't bite! Lol We have a few friends in the area that have done well and hoping we can get some mentoring and consulting without having to shell out 30-50 grand! Plus, it seems like BP is going to be a great source of education and networking. We do have one rental property as a result of buying another primary residence a couple years back. But very excited to get more going! We are looking forward to doing some light wholesaling and maybe some flips eventually but my main goal is to target the passive income stream and get enough rentals to supplement our retirement plans. But who knows...if things go better than expected, maybe I'll dive deeper and start eyeing an earlier retirement. Financial freedom does sound appealing!! Can't wait to start meeting new friends and possibly developing some valuable relationships! Cheers, ~Chad

[Abraham Saldana]

Chad,

Welcome! One of the best things about your situation right now is that you should have your VA entitlement, and that is a huge bonus for you. You are basically able to purchase a house with no money down. If you are going that route, I have recommended to my friends that they do the following:

1.  Utilize your VA  loan and purchase a multi-family property (preferably a tri/quad plex, anything more than that and you cannot use your VA loan) Live in the property for  at least 1 year (to satisfy VA requirements), while the other tenets pay your mortgage, but SAVE that money you would be paying towards the mortgage.  

2. After you have enough cash, utilize an FHA loan to purchase another MFH. By this time, you can also probably move out of the first MFH and refinance utilizing a conventional loan. This free's up your VA entitlement and you can go purchase another MFH with zero down.

3.  Rinse/repeat and if you are diligent, you can have over a dozen units within the first couple years of you starting out.  

Hope this helps!

Go Army beat Navy! :)