All Forum Posts by: Erin L.

It's pretty common for military, as many are coming from far away, I had one family coming from Guam with kids and dogs and they are eager to have a home when they land and an address for the government to deliver their household goods. It's definitely a niche market, probably wouldn't work so well in other segments.

I deal almost exclusively with military tenants and I have done this several times, most before all the new online document services were available. I faxed an unsigned copy of the lease and they signed and sent back, they transferred funds electronically to my bank account ( I have a separate account for tenants so they don't have my "personal" numbers), as long as the funds go in, I sign and their place is ready when they get here. In the future I will make more use of the online stuff now that its available, like @Elizabeth Colegrove does. About every other tenant I get starts the renting process from across country, my main thing is that I am as honest as possible about the property and look of the neighborhood and have even emailed a video walk thru to them since photos can be deceiving size-wise and make a 1000 ft prop look like a 1700! It's in my best interest so I don't have issues later when they get here.

@Malcolm V. a-HA! I knew there must be another paying gig in there! I am new to the site as well and I'm sure you are in information overload with me, so many great topics here - good luck and welcome!

The VA is a great source for loan programs, but not all of what you want to do there will qualify, there are a lot of restrictions. I purchased my property (duplex) using a VA loan with 0% but had to live in it for a period of time to be able to use VA. It has worked out great however, and hopefully will be using VA again someday. I have to ask though since I am military… you are military stationed in NYC and pulling down 6 figures at age 22? There must be a piece of the puzzle I'm not getting, like maybe a reservist? Good luck to you and research those VA Loan "rules" before you start looking so you know what your options are!

Thanks, everyone!

Welcome! I only wish I had started at your age! I am sure you will find this community as helpful as I have, so much information here and I'm sure it will give you a good start.

thanks @Sara Cunningham and good luck on your own move!

We definitely plan on returning to the area, this is just a 3 year move hopefully

Brain fog… I should have said what the BANK would finance us for not the VA, ha! We are also sitting in the nice position of me being a veteran also (no longer in service) so I have my VA entitlement as well. Managing the finances and debt are the hurdle now, we are on a mission to eliminate the "stupid debt" from our lives, doing well on that although not as quickly as I would like. Reading the forums here keeps me motivated and my eye on the bigger picture for the future.

@Elizabeth Colegrove we actually bought on an E-4 income so we used up the entitlement and then we had a portion of the loan above the allotted amount covered by owner financing. Now as an E-6 we are sitting in a better position, we will be investigating our options for sure.