All Forum Posts by: Dylan Robinson

Quote from @Scott Allen:

@Dylan Robinson Welcome to BiggerPockets. Definitely take advantage of your VA loan on your first one. You can do as little as 0% down and maybe even get money back at closing if you can implement seller credits into your offer during the inspection period or prior to going in contract. If you can use it to house hack a duplex, triplex, our fourplex to start out somewhere you wouldn't mind living - you'll learn much more quickly. Treat it like a stepping stone.

Thanks for the advice! I agree it would be a phenomenal option. The issue I'm running into with this is the area I'm planning on moving to isn't exactly the most affordable, and so even with 0% down, you still have to make the mortgage payments, and you're only qualified for up to an amount supportable by your in-place income, which of course makes sense. This is one of the reasons I'm interested in learning more about the out-of-state model. I'm planning to move to the area for a job, but who knows what the future holds! If things don't play out and I have the ability to go wherever I want, then absolutely this would be the plan. Is there perhaps something I'm overlooking?

Quote from @River Sava:

Welcome Dylan!

 Thanks River!

Quote from @Jonathan Greene:

Quote from @Dylan Robinson:

Quote from @Jonathan Greene:

Welcome. Remember that as a serviceman, you get excellent benefits from the VA loan that can be used to house hack and for investment properties as you can use your allotment on more than one property at a time. This is a crucial vehicle to your early success as a veteran.

If you don't know where you will settle when you first get back, getting started learning markets that are interesting to you (and you may also like to be close to) is very wise. The Long-Distance Real Estate Investing book is a great one to get the lay of the land on doing it from afar, but getting on-site experience will also be important in your journey.

Thanks for the advice! I’m currently working to narrow down a list of potential areas to deep dive. Do you invest locally in Nj, or have you worked in other markets as well?

NJ, NY, FL, and CA throughout most of my life, but I like a lot of markets out there. You shouldn't focus on the metrics first, you should make a list of places you are interested in going to or living and then see where there is crossover with that list. If you have a friend of family member near the area, even better.

 Couldn’t agree more! I’ll absolutely keep that in mind as I continue.

Quote from @Max Wilhite:

Hello @Dylan Robinson

Welcome to the BiggerPockets community! You’ve joined a supportive and knowledgeable group, all here to learn from and help each other grow in real estate. Dive in, ask questions, and share your insights—we can’t wait to see where this journey takes you!

 Thank you very much! Very grateful to have found this community.

Quote from @Jonathan Greene:

Welcome. Remember that as a serviceman, you get excellent benefits from the VA loan that can be used to house hack and for investment properties as you can use your allotment on more than one property at a time. This is a crucial vehicle to your early success as a veteran.

If you don't know where you will settle when you first get back, getting started learning markets that are interesting to you (and you may also like to be close to) is very wise. The Long-Distance Real Estate Investing book is a great one to get the lay of the land on doing it from afar, but getting on-site experience will also be important in your journey.

Thanks for the advice! I’m currently working to narrow down a list of potential areas to deep dive. Do you invest locally in Nj, or have you worked in other markets as well?

Hey everyone,

My name's Dylan, I've been serving active duty Army SOF for the last 5-6 years, and as the title says I'm new to real estate investing, and I'm ready to get started. A little about me: I grew up in Northern Virginia, up in Alexandria, and really loved the area. Honestly, I'm hoping to move back there in the near future - but that's for another time. Anyway, I graduated from Old Dominion University with a B.s. in Finance back in 2017, and that was really my first introduction to the idea of REI. Unfortunately, at the time, and for the years that followed, I was preoccupied with the notion that stocks were the superior investment vehicle. I then spent a majority of my free time learning as much as I could on the different styles and strategies that have been utilized in the past, reading everything from Lynch's One Up on Wall Street to Graham's Security Analysis, to learning how to build out financial models in excel. It wasn't until this past summer that it really clicked for me just how powerful the REI model can be, and so I've been reading, listening, consuming as much information as I can over the last few months, and I'm just ready to start making things happen.

Anyway, I’m really looking forward to meeting more of the community, to continue learning and building relationships with as many of you as I can. I’m really interested in pursuing the out-of-state investment strategy (currently reading David Greene’s Long-Distance Real Estate Investing), and I’d love to meet and connect with some investors experienced with this model.

I can’t give BP enough credit as you guys have been instrumental in my education thus far, and I can’t wait to see where this goes.