Trying to Buy a House in Norfolk, VA to Turn into a Rental

[Andrew Perry]

Hi, my name is Andrew I'm very new to real estate investing but I have high goals and aspirations. I am currently serving active duty military and will be stationed in Norfolk, VA. My friend and I would like to buy a house using the VA loan so we can do zero down and immediately look into buying our second house. We are going for single family homes or townhouses for other renters in the Norfolk area. My cap price is around 500,000 which I know is high but that's why it's the cap. I don't have a lot of capital but my friend does and he wants access to the VA loan and that's where I come in. We are looking to start an LLC for all houses we buy because eventually we want to make a business out of this. I'm mainly looking for assistance from realtors to give me options in the area as well as other seasoned investors who can help show me how to turn a few homes into a real estate empire. All the advice I can get will be great.

[Patti Robertson]

Hi Andrew!  Thank you for your service!  I have a couple of thoughts...

1) @Trevor Bond's advice to house hack your first one is spot on, because remember, the VA loan is an OWNER OCCUPANT loan. You have to sign on the dotted line saying your intention at the time of application and closing is that you will live in the property at least a year. Of course many things can change your plans after moving in, which often happens with military families.

2) You can't really have a partner from the time of purchase on a house you are buying with your VA loan, and I don't personally think that's a good idea. I'm a little partner adverse in general because I have been burned too many times. Later on, after you move out, if you decide to put the property into an LLC, you can do that. If you change the ownership structure though - like putting it into an LLC where you are only 50% owner - understand that you will have to rebuy title insurance. My title company told me if we transfer to an LLC where ownership is identical, the title insurance originally purchased at closing continues to cover us, but once ownership interest changes, it does not.

3) @Sean Rooks gave you a great investor list.  He forgot to include the Hampton Roads Landlord Association. That one is free to join.  It meets during the weekday, so you may have trouble catching this one on your military schedule.  It's free to join, so join anyways so you can be aware of the topics discussed and notified if an evening/weekend meeting is scheduled. 

4) Remember that you can buy 1-4 units with your VA loan. Multis are going for ridiculous prices in our market now, but if you can find one, it's definitely the way to go with your VA loan.

Good luck.  I'm excited for you to start your investing journey!