All Forum Posts by: Alejandro Calixto

Thanks for the shout out @John Warren.

@Brandon Singleton, I agree with John. The VA loans are just too convenient not to use. The fact that you can usually come out with a better interest rate, no money down and no PMI is so advantageous. It seems you're on the right path already. If you can find a 4-unit that cash flows or at least drastically reduces your out of pocket housing expenses in your market then you can take leaps while others take steps. As others pointed out, there are a couple things that come with. First you need to plan on staying at that property for at least one year. Since you're already planning on doing this then you should be good. But if you have to move duty stations in the middle of that year then that can be different. Another thing is when buying with a VA loan they require an additional inspection done by the VA side. They tend to want the property to be totally livable and can be picky on certain little things (chipped paint on stair railing, for example).

Also, as you see the funding fee can be waived. For example, if you receive VA disability compensation the funding fee could be waived. When it comes to your original question... my thoughts are go for it! You're looking in the right direction.

Feel free to reach out if you need anything.

@Sandra Pinzon congrats on what seems like an awesome mindset. Student debts can be a painful anchor. So being mindful of that is a good thing. When it comes to your house hacking in Chicago, it might depend on where you're willing to buy.

I am house hacking a 2-unit in a Chicago suburb (La Grange) with a VA Loan. If I were to move out I would definitely be cashflowing. While living in it, although I'm not cashflowing, I have lowered my out of pocket expense for housing by about $500. Might not seem like a lot to some, but that helps a great deal in my lifestyle. And that expense will only keep going down as long as rents go up. I'm also able to afford a much more expensive property by paying less out of pocket.

Prices are at a point where it would make it hard (not impossible) to find a property that cash flows with a VA loan (no money down). And it is true that the regular VA Loan requires the property to be in good condition. But house hacking is definitely the way to go. And the beautiful thing with the VA loans is NO PMI. When you buy with other loans and put minimal down payment, you end up having to pay PMI which usually destroys any cashflow. So in our case, we pick up a decent property that should require less maintenance, don't have to pay PMI which means we keep some more of that rent in our accounts, and no money down.

Having a great lender and a great realtor helped with my situation. Coincidentally, I used VU when I purchased my first SFH years ago before I knew anything about REI. I would suggest you deal with a lender that can understand your long term goals. Let me know if there is anything I can help with.

@Dennis S. Gelbart What type of broker are you looking for exactly (realtor, mortgage, insurance...). The guy to know in that area is @John Warren. He should be able to help you with whatever you're looking for.

@Eddie Nunez and @Robert Posta depends on how far south and how far west you're looking :)

I know @John Warren hosts a great meetup on the last Tuesday of each month in Forest Park (used to be in Berwyn). John is always bringing people that provide awesome information.

@Elliott Hughes this is an interesting question. I would have the same assumption as you but it would be nice to get advice from someone on here that would actually understand the law. 

@Frankie B. Welcome! I'm sure you'll be able to get this set up by networking on here.

Where did your interest for Hammond, IN come from?

@Chris T.

I know this is about a year old, but I just came across this post. I work in the loop and am always looking for like-minded people to talk REI with. I live a short drive away from Downers Grove, too. If you ever want to grab lunch let me know.

@Ben Dao congrats! Awesome to see a different approach to what I have been seeing. Most of what I see is people might start with single family homes and get fed up with self-managing so many locations. Then they move more towards the multi-unit properties. Glad the opposite worked for you. I love how you took steps that were possible for you at that point in time. At one point I wanted nothing but the same kind of property in the same town. After a while I started noticing it was not going to be that simple. Especially after prices soared and seeing that the area was very desirable. Definitely learning to be open to different approaches.

You mentioned that managing your 4-plexes started getting tough, is that why you moved towards single family or is that just happenstance?

Also, what did you do after the managing became an issue? Did you get a property manager?

@Calvin Ozanick that makes perfect sense. If you already what you love for a living then no point in giving that up. The way I see it, it's always a question of what is it that we want out of life. If property management brings more good experiences to my life than being a landlord overlooking contractors/management companies then the first is the way to stay. I'm sure being part of a property management company could help alleviate the sense of a full-time job from your investment properties. There's ways to tie both together, right?

@JD Martin I like boring. It takes patience and discipline. I'm working on the saving a bunch of cash part for some investments. But I am also planning to use my current properties to help buy more (through a cash-out or line of credit). The personal finance balance is another thing that I agree is super important. I look at it as my first business. Living below our means and having a good expense vs income ratio is highly important when using my W2 job as a main source of savings.

@Steven Taylor congrats! Awesome what the right business could do to propel your investments from 70 to 300.

@Chris Gantz thank you so much. I'm sure that summary of how you started your property management company will help many people on here. I really appreciate the suggestion. I would love the idea of starting my own company that directly connects to REI. I have thought about it and will look further into it. By the way, my wife and I go up to Madison every summer. Hopefully we have a chance to meet next time I'm up there.

@Charles Faul fantastic! Thanks a lot. Congratulations on your well earned accomplishments. I love learning. I have set myself up in a mindset to learn from every experience. Hope I can put those lessons to good use as much as you did. Your numbers look great. It does seem investing completely into the properties pays off with better occupancy and repair costs. Are your two employees mostly for property management purposes (maintenance, repairs, leasing) or do they help more with the acquisition side of things?

@Syed H. sounds like you're pretty well set if you're a year or two away from having the option to be a full-time landlord. Good stuff. Being bored after becoming a full-time landlord seems like a good problem to have to me :) I like your point about synergies between landlording and flipping. I would have to say having a flipping business seems as good of a job as it gets for investments if you are a landlord. You can keep the property to rent it out.

@Jerry Lucker I like that path you took. Find something most people stay away from or don't notice and make it work for you. It sounds like you still do flips now. Is that simply for get funds to purchase more of those high cashflow rentals?