Omaha, NE VA Loan Deal

[Tanner Sherman]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $270,000
Cash invested: $700

Live and flip, value add property utilizing a VA loan. $1,000 earnest deposit, $200 due at closing with $500 in seller concessions. Will be used as a long term rental after two years.

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

We have a large family, and wanted to find the cheapest house that needed the most improvements in the nicest neighborhood.

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

We found our amazing realtor on BiggerPockets while we were stationed in Minnesota and got on his MLS alerts. He did a virtual walkthrough of numerous properties, and we wound up closing on this one sight unseen after 4 offers turned down on other properties.

How did you finance this deal?

VA Loan, $0 down.

How did you add value to the deal?

We are working on finishing the basement, adding a bedroom and a bathroom and updating existing kitchen and bathrooms.

What was the outcome?

An amazing school district, great neighborhood (without HOA, rare for this area) and a ton of upside potential that is still ongoing.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Flood zone- dealing with flood insurance has been the biggest pain. We are technically not in the flood zone, but enough of the backyard falls into the flood zone to require us to insure the whole house with flood insurance. The lender said flood insurance is required by the insurance company, the insurance company said flood insurance is required by the lender. After a lot of back and forth we are still working on getting an elevation certificate to say that we do not need flood insurance.

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

Ethan Hamilton with Nebraska Realty.
We did not enjoy our experience with the lender, Veterans United.