All Forum Posts by: Alex Lesar

Wow thanks for all the help everyone...you guys are on top of your sh*t. Looks like its time to talk to my lender and get his thoughts on it. Seems like the best move is to use that VA loan, preserve existing capital for repairs/future expenditures/worldwide plague, and then refinance into a conventional when it's time to use the VA loan again.

@Anna Laud The thing I'm worried about is using up those first time home buyers benefits on a $180,000 SFH in a relatively cheap market in Oklahoma when I might be kicking myself in a few years buying a $500,000 elsewhere without those first benefits. I suppose money now is better than money later if it helps me grow my real estate portfolio in the meantime but I'll definitely be looking into what'll be used up that first time.

@Chace Fraser Great point looking at ROI, ...makes the "no money down" hype you hear about make a bit more sense. Love the VA->FHA->Refi plan...great way to leverage while keeping capital in the bank for value-adds, additional purchases, sh*t hitting the fan, etc.

Hello BP community! I'm brand new to this whole REI thing with a grand total of 0 investment properties...but looking to grow! I'm in the Air Force and will be stationed in Enid, OK for the next 3+ years. Looking to buy a few rental properties while I'm here to start building that asset column. I have some renovation experience so I was looking at doing some version of a live-in flip for a year (to take advantage of primary residence mortgages), move out and start renting the property, buy a new property, and repeat for 3 years - ideally with 3 cash flowing rental properties when I leave.

I have a home I'm looking at that my relator thinks we can get for $180,000 and based on similar listings can rent for around $1400/month...its a new-ish build so it won't need a ton of reno other than a few cosmetic upgrades (<$5,000). My question revolves around what type of mortgage should I use and what kind of down payment makes sense?

Option A: VA loan with $0 down. The property will cash flow around $125/month after I move out (conservative estimate)

Option B: Conventional Loan with 20% down ($36,000). The property will cash flow around $275/month because of the lower mortgage payment (again, conservative estimate)

I've had a ton of friends use the VA load with nothing down on primary residences turned rental properties and it seems like a good way to preserve capital - seems smart especially if I'm gonna be purchasing additional homes in the next year that may need $20,000+ in renovations. On the other hand, I've been told by my father-in-law as well as my relator that if I'm able, I should save my first time homebuyer VA benefits for when I buy a more expensive house in the future and put 20% down on a conventional loan to pay into this first home's equity, and lower the mortgage payment which ups the cash flow another couple hundred dollars...also seems smart. My biggest apprehension is that this $36,000 down payment is going to cut pretty deep into my cash reserves (pulling this out of the stock market) and only leave me with about $15,000 for future ventures (without dipping into emergency fund/savings).

Not sure what the right answer is here. Thanks in advance for the help!

-Alex