All Forum Posts by: Drew Vukov

you can buy a 4 unit on residential terms in Scranton right now at market and cash flow. You should be able to find a few under market as well if you keep looking.  I've seen a few inexpensive 6/7 units but then you are talking 15/20 year loan terms and 30 plus percent down payment. You are basically at the same cash flow as a 4 unit. 

I'll move on to duplexes there once I'm out of conventional financing on 4s. 

get the four fam. There's more than enough good ones in Scranton. 

Thanks @Joel Owens  I'll check that out. I want something with the depth that I can play around with a bit

Is there an excel version of this exact calculator? There are some good ones in the file place but I don't see one that incorporates all of the long term projections.

Blayne Nation good luck to you. It's a similar plan to what I'm doing right now. If you are looking at getting the BAH and investing in homes for the economics over the type of school or education you will get (thats fine that what I did too) I will Just suggest you keep looking to other areas. GI bill BAH rate for NYC is about $3900 a month 36 months of that will be over 140k! You can find a small financeable multi family's within commuting distance from an NYC school somewhere in the tri state area for around 300k. Possibly much lower if you familiarize your self with the area and get a good deal on a place that's functional but needs updating. Also there may be many SFR that you can rent out rooms to other students while you live there. and many have finished basements that are good for rent. You will probably see similar opportunities in many areas where the BAH is at the highest level. It pays out where you go to school not where you choose to live, keep that in mind.

I recently splurged on a 2002 ford f150 with 100k miles. I say splurged because I do have another car, a Hyundai Accent blue edition I bought new in 2010 for 9k. Yes 9k. new. People didn't believe me when I told them I bought a brand new car that didn't have an A/C and still had roll down windows. They still don't. And I only really paid 8k for it because  I got 1k for my trade in, a 2000 jeep cherokee with 220k miles. I bought that with 150k miles for 4k a few years before. I would rather have nicer and new cars, I just hate having a car payment. 

One day ill buy my porsche 911.

Brandon Tahincioglu hello fellow Coastie. You are wrong on a few points. Moving every few years is actually an advantage as an investor. You can take full advantage of VA or FHA loans as an owner occupant. Keep those mortgages on when you leave and rent it out, then move on to the next place. Look at 2-4 families that need a little Work but are mortgageable within commuting distance of your station. Why drop your savings into a turn key that you probably won't be able to vet properly? Make the sacrifice. Live cheaply in an area that has smaller multi families available. Or at least a single fam with a rentable basement or something. Rent out the extra bedrooms to your shipmates. When you move on to the next duty location repeat the process and keep the prior home as cash flow.

I closed on two properties on the same day last year. It didn't save me anything in closing costs. The bulk of the closing costs are loan fees, title insurance, transfer taxes, other taxes. Other fees were also per home/loan. If you have them wrapped inter one loan you may save some type of fees, but It saved me only time, not money.

 No, I wouldn't say its critical. However you would be hard pressed to find any areas that are not in somewhat close distance to LIRR anyway. And then a lot of people drive to the LIRR station anyway. Its a plus to be in a short walking distance, definitely. But its not a main factor for me when Im looking at potential properties. Though that may be because most areas do have reasonable access.

@Thomas Burns 

I was just reading up on some of the standards and qualifications for using rental income. It's looks to me the the answer is no, If it is a one family home and also your primary residence. But I'm not an expert, I'm still researching.