All Forum Posts by: Steve Marshall

As both active duty Air Force and a landlord who rents to military, I'm going to agree with everything the previous folks have said.  You can always ask for unit/phone number, just like you ask for employer.  If they don't give it to you and give you a generic "US Air Force, Pentagon"  you can ask for more.  You're going to want to talk to someone who can verify employment.  That being said, they don't have to give it to you.  Some folks, especially in areas full of special forces may not be willing to provide you that information.  

I also second the person who said to verify PCS/deployment orders.  I had a military tenant who tried to tell me he had received orders and wanted out of his lease.  Turns out he was just changing units on the same base (PCA)...  I found out after he was already moved out. I kept his deposit to help me pay for the re-rental costs.  I'm not sure why he didn't just talk to me or my pm...I would have let him go with no cost, but not once he was dishonest with me all bets were off.

I'm curious, what drove this question?  

@Peter Hansen, welcome.  I am currently military living overseas.  I have one house and am working on closing on number two (which I purchased on Auction.com), so also a beginner.

Some humble advice:  

1)Spend your time deployed learning.  There are so many resources on BP for free you can use your entire time (365/180...whatever) learning for free.  I recommend the podcasts, the beginners guide, and if you want to pay, the low/no money down book is a good start.

2) Start looking now, but when you get back find your team...at a minimum you'll need a property manager and a realtor.  Both should be familiar with working with investors and military members who won't be around all the time.  Start with recommendations (on here is a great place to get them), and then interview them...remember, they are working for you!

3)Take a little bit of time every day looking at properties on line. Also, after you get some recommendations on realtors, you can start that conversation via e-mail. It's very easy for them to add you to their list and send deals from the MLS automatically.

4) I'm a little out of my depth here, but my decision has been to hold off on my license because I'm not 100% sure where I'm going to settle.  Unlike some professional licenses, the realtor license does not transfer state to state.  ...I plan to do it sometime in the future, but right now it seems like a bit of a waste.

Hit me up with a PM if you want to chat...and use the deployment wisely.  

Steve Marshall 

Bangkok

There is a lot of great info on BP already...that being said I will tell you that I just "won" my first auction on auction.com yesterday. So far it seems pretty straight forward. They didn't contact me like they said they would within and hour, but a live chat and a phone call moved the process along easily. The paperwork seems normal and it was clearly explained about the wire transfer of earnest money. Strategy: it's useless to bid early. Wait until the last 5 minutes and note that the bid increments will probably drop in the last hour. Also, the site will bid against you until the reserve is met...so if you bid, don't meet the reserve, and another bid comes in immediately after- it's probably the site. I bid in the last two minutes, hit the reserve and"won". I would not have bid again I don't think because I would have assumed any bid after mine was the computer if the reserve hadn't been met. I am also well aware that the owner (bank) has a right to refuse my offer. If so, I'll see it back on the site later. I'll follow up if anything changes or feel free to send me a pm.

@Jay Helms @Sandy Blanton Thanks!  I'll give them a call.  

@Terry Hershberger   

Because I'm out of town I need a good team.  In Pensacola I have a good property manager in place and a couple of Realtors that I trust.  I grew up in the Mansfield area (Bellville) so I could build a team there if I found the right property.  That being said, if you know anyone in that area, please let me know.  

Steve

@Brie Schmidt @Terry Hershberger @Aaron Mazzrillo 

Thank you for your comments and encouragement...if you ever make it back, send me a message.  I'll be there for at least 3 more years and would love to give you any advice or buy you dinner when you're in town!

As for investment in Thailand.  I'm slowly researching that now, but unless I want to get a Thai wife (and I kinda like my current one) there are a lot of barriers to entry.  Not impossible, but it will take a little time to figure out.  

Steve

William/Timothy,  

Thanks. Yes, I do have a good PM, although with my other property their job is pretty easy. We'll see how it goes with a more hands-on property. I have considered doing PTP and then use the fact that I own the house to just take a more traditional lower interest HELOC. I'll do more research on that.

Do either of you have a good local bank/credit union in the P-cola area that you can suggest?

Blake, 

Congrats on getting those wings and on your first deal. I'd love to talk about P-cola and the the market down there. 

Thanks for the comment!

Steve

Mehran,  

Thanks for the comment.  I love the podcasts and am an admirer of yours and your rapid build-up of your portfolio.  I also enjoyed hearing your advice on investing out of area.

Thanks again,

Steve

Couldn't find a similar discussion.

I recently started working on getting my first investment property in the Pensacola, FL area.  I have enough cash to put 25% down on a smaller property (30-60K)  plus this seems to be where the numbers work best for cash flow in the area I'm interested in.  I am not planning on doing any major rehab due to being a long-distance investor.

 I called national lenders to try and get a traditional 30 year mortgage but was told that, due to federal regulations on fees relative to amount of loan, they couldn't offer a 30 year mortgage less than about 100K and only 15 year mortgages between 50-100K.  The loan officers consistently explained that because the dollar amount was so small the fees end up exceeding a certain percentage of the loan... that makes it illegal to write the loan. 

Has anyone run into this?  is there a way to get a traditional mortgage?  Maybe from a local lender?  Any suggestions?

I have no equity in other properties or cash on hand in non-retirement accounts that would allow for a cash purchase.  

I have considered a personal loan with a follow-on refi and peer to peer, but I'm a newbie and would rather finance the first deal traditionally if I can.  

I look forward to hearing your comments/suggestions.

Steve