All Forum Posts by: Eric Upchurch

We donated a house to homeless veterans this year.

Remember your ‘why’, BiggerPockets!

I serve with the memory and pride of those who have gone before me, for they loved to fight, fought to win, and would rather DIE than quit. I do this for them. That makes me and our team unstoppable. Today, tomorrow and always.

🇺🇸 Thank you all for the support - in so many ways. And thank you to my brothers and sisters in here who also served.

Hey BP! Just wanted to give a shout out to this awesome community that ultimately got me started investing. As an Army Special Operations Veteran, I just wanted to encourage you to reach for whatever it is you want in this life. You deserve it. REI has allowed my team to DONATE A HOUSE to homeless veterans this year - and much more. REI saved my life. So thanks, @biggerpockets!

If you are reading this post, you are ALIVE. I don't take it for granted. None of us should. 

Last year, my team closed over 500 doors in commercial multifamily. I was doing some SFR flips, BRRRR and even some private lending before discovering the awesomeness of MF. @Brandon Turner, whom we just interviewed (insert big eye emoji), is writing a book on it with my friend Brian Murray, that I'm STOOOOKED to read next year (and you should be too!).

Here is a little helpful hint for anyone getting started - the success formula:

1. Learn all you can (hey, you're already HERE!)

2. Network your butt off. This cannot be overlooked. It's essential to growth. People want to know who you are!

3. Add value to others. Figure out what it is that people are having a hard time with and help them find a solution. Chances are, if you are networking like a boss, they will tell you what their issues are.

4. Take massive, decisive action. 

If you do these 4 things with the intention to be just 1% better daily, success will hunt YOU down.

We wrote a (free) book called Military House Hacking. It talks about using your VA benefits, buying a 1-4 unit (no money down, no PMI), living in one unit for a year and a day (at least), refinancing to conventional loan and doing it again at your next duty station. There are some more details obviously, but that's the short version of the Military House Hack. Pretty cool way to accumulate properties (essentially for FREE) while you serve. Can be done out of the service too, but sometimes life/family/obligations can get in the way. Either way, I'm a huge fan of the VA loan strategy and I've even written for BP on the topic as a blog contributor!

A lot of it is going to depend on your situation and goals. Are you married with kids? Single, no kids? What are your goals? BRRRR style buy and hold? Passive investments? Or the best option, IMO, the Military House Hack. Glad to discuss with you (fellow Veteran investor).

I can’t say enough good about Rod Khleif AND his events. Not only is it 3 days of jam-packed knowledge, but the networking is insanely good. So good, in fact, that I’ve been to his conference several times! 

Also, you would always expect an upsell, right? Well, Rod does have a great coaching program, but compared to others, he barely discusses it. Not only that, Rod is a certified High-Performace coach and spends a lot of energy on getting people to BELIEVE in themselves.

Hell of an event, hellnof a program and I’d recommend it to anyone who is willing to learn, grow, network and succeed in the Multifamily business. 

Feel free to ask questions. In under 6 months, I closed on a 212 unit deal as a DIRECT result of Rod Khleif and his amazing ecosystem.

The property is great. Did have to evict, but that had nothing to do with  Bridge. Tenant lost his job and tried his best. Got a new tenant within a month and still renting at $1495/month. We recommend Bridge to all of our military investor/brothers-in-arms that we mentor because of their willingness to do what is right, fair and their communication is stellar for our overseas buyers. Even my dad is buying Bridge deals. 

@Jay Hinrichs Thanks for what you are doing for our community! We plan to do the same, but with a twist. Giving away an income-producing investment property to an active duty S/M or Vet! Love to connect to talk more...but not over coffee! Ha! 

But seriously, thank you. 

@Benjamin Chambers Man! I have so much to say here! Check out my blog articles for BP! I am a spec ops Army Vet and run a Military REI company called Active Duty Passive Income. We just published a #1 bestselling book called "Military House Hacking" last November. It will answer a lot of your questions! You can even get a free copy on our website. We are adding tons of military-specific value!

My take on an LLC - going to be hard to buy a SFR with an LLC anyway. You can buy in your name, transfer to a land trust, then have the trustee relinquish beneficial interest to your LLC...but otherwise it MAY trigger due on sale.

Also, check out our podcast where we interviewed Rich Dad advisor Garrett Sutton. He talks about this. We also interviewed Robert Kiyosaki which is a pretty cool interview for all you vets out there!!

Glad to help, but make sure you get all of our free, Military-specific info!!

John, check out our recent book “Military House Hacking” on Amazon. Glad to talk to you offline. Find me on FB or look up our closed group Active Duty Passive Income.

To answer: what I would do is buy a 4-plex with zero down, roll in closing costs and VA loan funding fee (if you don't have a VA disability rating it's between 1-3% of PP). Then live in one unit for a year. Use all the cashflow to pay down the principal. Do this aggressively for a year. As soon as you are close to 80-85% LTV on that 4-plex, you refinance it to a conventional loan. Then the best part is that now you just DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN WITH ANOTHER 4-PLEX!

We have this incredible benefit that allows you to buy up to 4 units for freeeeeeeeee! Hit me up. Glad to talk more. Vets helping vets!

@Jake J Connelly we wrote the book “Military House Hacking” (Amazon) or you can get a free digital copy on our website. Lots of good info in it. Love to connect, sir!