All Forum Posts by: Andrew Powers

@Corey Manson

I have not personally checked the sources mentioned in my research as of yet. We are hoping to make some moves this year so I will be looking into this over the next few months. Please let me know if you find anything yourself.

@Matthew Carducci This is discouraging as I would like to use the VA system to get off the ground with my REI endeavors.

I have done quite a bit of research without yet actually talking to a VA loan expert about the problem at hand. I found some useful posts on this thread in the BP forums: https://www.biggerpockets.com/... If you scroll to Leland Barrow's post he seems to have personal experience making this work within the VA Loan framework. I also found in this article's comments some clarification on the VA Loan Occupancy rule: http://www.vanewsblog.com/can-... Scroll to the last two comments for what appears to be a call to the Cleveland Regional VA Loan manager, which I would expect to be a legitimate source. It's my understanding that it should be entirely possible to use VA loans to finance multiple properties if done properly. It seems the way make it work without committing mortgage fraud is simply to intend to occupy the new home at closing. There doesn't appear to be a year requirement to stay in the house before moving to a new one as everyone seems to think. I wonder, is it the VA that was preventing the acquisition of a new loan, or a particular lender? I would think that only the lender might have an issue.

@Leland Barrow Great answer. I've never heard the term VABORRR and will be doing some research into this. I've been trying to find some of the answers to these questions. There are so many articles that appear when you research whether buying rental properties with VA loans is possible that flat out say you can't. I found the comments at the end of this article hopeful, though I'd like to follow up with a VA loan expert: http://www.vanewsblog.com/can-... This basically verifies from the Cleveland Regional Loan department that you only need to intend to occupy the home at closing. And from reading the handbook and rules on occupancy, it only seems to define the time limit to start occupying the home (60 days to a year as explained previously), not the time requirement before you can move again. I am wondering if staying in the home for a certain amount of time should even be a concern at all for mortgage fraud given this information. It seems that VABORRR should work without a hitch with no time requirement for occupancy.

Sorry to revive a dead thread, but I have to side with @Dean Weltman here. Nobody else seems to have acknowledged that a lot of the information put out here is not referenced to a source of any kind. For instance, according to this page: http://www.vanewsblog.com/can-... (scroll to the bottom, last two comments) it's entirely possible to use the VA loan to purchase rental properties, as long as you follow the rules, which I'll quickly summarize.

-You must intend to occupy the home at closing time. At closing time. Not forever. Not for 12-months. Just at the moment you close on the deal.

There's not really a long list. The Primary Residence Occupancy rule as defined in the VA Loan Handbook only states that you must live in the home within 60 days, or within 12 months if there are understandable circumstances. It does not specify how long you must be a primary resident of the home.

This information is all from my own private research, which includes the VA website in addition to many other articles on the web trying to explain this topic. Most of which flat out say you cannot buy rental properties with the VA loan. I'm inclined to disagree and will verify that there is a path to do so before long. Obviously, before making any important decisions based on the information I've presented here, speak with a VA loan expert and be absolutely sure you know what you're doing.

@Thomas Hundtoft @John Teachout Much of the landscape is already functional and safe. The backyard is enclosed and set for a dog. My plan for grading the lawn includes basically raising the low spots, not hiring a landscaper to do a legitimate grading procedure. The fence is simply ugly. As is the concrete. There are cracks and weeds need to be routinely removed. My question still stands about widening the driveway however. Would adding a parking spot increase curb appeal a great deal? Remember I may have at least 4 tenants in the house. I'd say there are currently 3 spots in front of the house already that are usually available.

I bought a house that has low spots in the lawn where water pools (attracting mosquitos), more weeds than grass, and the front walkway, driveway, porch, and garden pavers look like Frankenstein's monster. Also, the fence surrounding the back yard is made from wire and wood with ivy taking over most of the back end. How much effort should I put into the landscape for a nice profit if I intend to rent this property out in the future? Considerations I have are grading the lawn, making the grass one uniform species, and possibly repairing/redoing the concrete areas and even extending the single lane driveway to make room for a second car. For the back fence I would consider replacing with a taller, wooden privacy fence (matching the adjacent neighbors) and possibly extending it forward along the sides of the house to make better use of the side yards by incorporating them into the back yard. It will be a 4 bedroom rental and I will most likely advertise to college students or military.

I get paper wasp nests infesting my property every summer. I've taken care of a few small ones myself, but I just discovered a huge one (hopefully the source of all the trouble) as well as wasps in the attic while investigating load bearing beams for a possible renovation. I imagine I'll have to develop a relationship with a good pest control person eventually. Any good experiences?

I am in the military and purchased my first home using a VA loan. I understand the purpose of a VA loan is for the eligible borrower to use the purchased property as his/her primary residence. I did find a blurb on the va website that defined primary residence as the place you live for at least 6 months and 1 day out of the year. I can understand how this would make renting a primary residence implausible, but I'm curious about using something like Airbnb. I feel like I could make the argument that I am living in a home for 6 months and 1 day out of the year and renting it out on Airbnb for the rest of the time. However, in my area, I feel like it might be difficult to cover all expenses and make a profit comparable to a rental property in just shy of 6 months of Airbnb renting. Would renting on Airbnb for more than 6 months in fact remove the primary residence classification?

This is most likely a question I will pose to a VA authority or local lawyer as well, but I'm just curious if anyone has any experience in this area. If not Airbnb, are there other legitimate ways to use a VA loan to invest in real estate without converting your previous properties into conventional mortgages?

@Joe Villeneuve @Lien Vuong Thanks for the responses. I will definitely lean more on the MLS than Zillow when making calculations.

I'm just getting into the business of real estate investing and I'm just curious what your thoughts are on this topic. Are the rental prices on Zillow a good gauge of how I should price my rentals? Are the properties listed on Zillow properties that have yet to be successfully rented? Is there more out there to compare than what can be found on Zillow?