All Forum Posts by: James De Leon

@Nick DeLuca You're welcome! Yes, that'll be a great way to get your foot in the door. That's awesome! You're going to love it here, SD is the best place to live. Good Luck and don't hesitate to reach out if you have nay questions.

Hi @Nick DeLuca,

That's awesome that you're getting into RE and learning as much as you can. I would say you should continue to dive into books, podcasts, etc. so when you're ready to jump in the game you have a good amount of knowledge. Another thing that you can do is get a job or intern for someone in the RE field. Whether it be an investor, lender, agent etc. they'll be able to teach you the ins and outs of their piece of the pie in the industry. Good luck Nick! Feel free to reach out whenever.

Hi @Alexander Kim,

Congratulations on getting into RE! If you're the only one that will be on the loan, the most you can do is a 4plex. If you have another person with a VA loan (i.e veteran, active duty, etc.) you can get up to 6 units with one commercial space (a storefront, retail, etc.) You can technically still BRRR with the VA loan but you would have to substantially force appreciation since you're going in it with 0 down and virtually no equity. Also you would have to take into account that there is a seasoning period with VA lenders. Yes could partner with someone whether it be someone with a VA loan or without. Hope that helps! Good Luck and don't hesitate to reach out.

@Account Closed

You are correct, you can't use the VA loan for an investment property. However in Ryan's post he said that "I am about to rent out the property through a property manager once I move out of the property." I believe he intends to occupy for the minimum occupancy requirement then rent it out.

@Ryan McKnight

Congratulations on acquiring your first property! It sounds like a good first deal.

@Anthony Friday

I would start by contacting about 10-20 lenders around you area or that services your area. Typically lenders have better rates and can offer better terms than banking institutions because they are not as "mainstreamed." You should do more research for small-time lenders. Also if you want a mortgage company that is a little bigger then I would go with CrossCountry Mortgage. Good luck and happy hunting!

@Tyler Bolton

Hi Tyler, some cities that you should look into is Little Rock, Jacksonville and Tampa. Obviously it depends on your goals and what you are comfortable with when choosing a city. There are many tools and resources out there that you can use to dive deep into cities. Good luck!

 @Greg Dorn

Congratulations on your first deal! That's awesome that you used the Va loan to house hack. Such a powerful tool. 

@James Smith

Welcome to BP and congratulations on getting the first house to jumpstart your RE career. Refinancing would not really an adverse effect on you purchasing a second property. It's better to refinance out of an FHA loan so you can re-use it and make it easier for you on the long run. 6 months is the typical waiting period, but I have seen some lenders not have any seasoning requirements. Calling and vetting around is the best way to know what a lender does and doesn't. I highly recommend you calling other lenders and shop your credit profile. You have a two week window in which all inquiries you have in that time window counts as one. Having a higher values property doesn't affect your D/I negatively, in your situation you actually lower your monthly payments so that'll help and yes they will utilize the rental income. Many lenders don't necessarily care about changes in employments just as long as you proof of employment letter that they can utilize for your loan. I would say these are all question you would need to ask lenders specifically because all lenders are different. Good luck!

Hi @Rodarius Lewis,

That's awesome that you're leaning towards real estate investing and you came to the best place to gain knowledge. I agree with Al in that the "bitter" part of using the VA loan is that it comes with strict guidelines so when a seller sees a VA offer against a conventional offer, most of the time they would choose the conventional one. Though there are numerous occasions that your VA offer can look stronger, but that depends on the realtor and how they structure your offer.

The VA loan is awesome in that there are numerous advantages to the service member while using it i.e no downpayment, no PMI, etc. Also with that being in mind, you can also get approved for a small multi-family to house hack. Personally I've used the VA loan to buy my 4 plex here in San Diego and I put no money out of pocket. If you can get a seller to accept your offer knowing it's a VA loan then you're in a great position to build your portfolio.

For you last question, just keep educating yourself in real estate investing, VA loan, etc. Also network as much as you can while still preparing to get into the REI investing game. You have a lot of people and resources here in BP and I highly advise you to utilize it. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions. Good luck Rodarius!