All Forum Posts by: Chris Martinez

Quote from @Mark Cruse:

@Chris Martinez I have more eligibility on my VA loan and am trying to figure out which way to go. What is the advantage of assuming another loan compared to just getting another the same way you did before?

You get their interest rate. So in my opinion now is a great time to assume a loan, because there's people who bought 2-4 years ago with a 2.5-3% interest rate and not a huge amount of appreciation yet. But ya you can see people agreeing, there's about 700 properties in my area listed and only 3 are VA loan assumption capable

@Paul K. I will say I bought a condo in Hawaii in 2020, and many of my friends did the same.  I will say of my 10 friends who bought condos maybe me and one other guy still own them.  A lot of the HOAs make it hard to rent, aren't AIRBNB friendly, and are expensive.  Additionally the Taxes Hawaii charges (Transient Income Tax, and General Excise Tax) really eat into your bottom line, and additionally Hawaii State law requires you to hire an on island property Manager when you ultimately PCS.

I will say, I got lucky as ultimately I just wanted a mortgage that came out less than my BAH as I had no idea what I was doing and that just seemed like a conservative thing to do.  Afterwards I pivoted, left the apartment furnished and I find all my renters from the Oahu travel Nurse Facebook groups. I've been renting it out for 5 years at this point, but frankly after I pay taxes I end up losing about $50 a month but it has appreciated nicely and I anticipate I'll start breaking even with the next renter.  In hindsight, I wish I had just bought a small house and house hacked it with some coworkers.

Hey everyone! Finally took the plunge and decided to post on here. BLUF: Does anyone have any good tricks to find properties that have VA/assumable loans? I've tried searching "loan" "assumption" or "VA" on Zillow with mild success, and my realtor is finding like 1 property a week which doesn't seem like nearly enough based on living in the DC area.

Also, I currently have 2 VA loans on other properties, and have determined for Fairfax county I have about $400k of eligibility remaining. Am I able to assume a $600k VA loan if I put $40k down? (and obviously pay the appreciation)