First home buying experience and with using my VA loan

[Melissa Johnstone]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence other investment.

Purchase price: $225,000
Cash invested: $15,000
Sale price: $288,000

Single family home bought through VA for our family. Stationed there almost three years, sold with profit and tax break for how long we lived in the house. This was our first home, and learned it all along the way. With so much out of our control with military orders, we were fortunate. Now we sold that home, we learned we want to buy and hold our rental properties.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

The layout of the home was great, and we knew that it would work for years to come. It was a new build in a great neighborhood.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

We were being transferred to that area and went up to look at a couple different homes in the area and that one came up that day, and we made a full asking offer immediately.

How did you finance this deal?

This was through the Veterans Affairs home loan program.

How did you add value to the deal?

Very few updates were necessary for the property because it was a new build, yet we made interior updates as all dimmer lights and updated the bathroom tub. Outside we had trees taken down that were going to cause major future problems with the roof, gutters and the view.

What was the outcome?

We had to move fast and initially decided to sell it, the relator who was helping us somehow convinced us we should make it a rental property......... and let her be our tenant (insert face palm here) so since we had no real estate experience and we were already moved away, we agreed. It lasted a few months, and we stated that it was not going to work anymore. We did not have the time or experience to keep up with a dishonest woman who knew she knew more than us on real estate.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

We learned through this process that when we don't have the answers, we need to ask for help. This was now at least 8 years ago and we have both learned a lot since then. This home is still an incredible investment, and we wish we had it, but are happier to have all the lessons learned from it. We now have two homes and are looking into our third. We have one as a rental and have long term tenants there who are great and we have good communication in both directions.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

We have a relator out of Redding, CA whom we work with each time we look into real estate buys. He is over an hour away from us and always is honest- which to us is priceless. He always puts our dreams first and foremost. He knows we plan on continuing to grow our portfolio. He knows were both Veterans and has answers to our questions when we get to the properties. Today he drove over an hour into the woods for us to look at a mobile so my husband does not have to commute. He shows up for us!