All Forum Posts by: Jennifer Santana

I helped my mother purchase a home under my name. She wants to move and asked if I want to keep the house and rent it out. She's been paying the mortgage ($300 extra per payment too.) I have no debt. Not even student loans or a car loan! I am able to max out my tsp (military version of my 401k) and on track to max out my Roth IRA. I will be stationed in VA and the house will be in PA so about four hours away. Since I am debt free, max out my retirement accounts and have a good amount left over each paycheck and of course in savings, financially the next step I want to take is investing an a rental property. Should I go for it? If I do what should I be aware of? If not, why not go for it? Currently the mortgage is $137,000. The minimum each month is $1042.

Thanks for the info! I never thought about that, but definitely something to keep in mind!

For the most part I usually hear that military posts are great places to invest at. I plan on PCS'ing back to the states next year and the goal is to use my VA loan to buy my first place and to have it become a rental when I pcs again. Are there some posts that tend to be harder to find a good rental investment property in?

@Geoffrey Schaeffer,

Yes I have a TSP and contribute a good amount to it every month. One of my goals is once I have a good roll and passive income that can take care of regular expenses with is to contribute even more from my military paycheck to the point where I can max it out. I'm thinking big with my goals!

Thank you all for the replies! Greatly appreciate the advice and stories how this has worked out for you all. My plan is to buy a place (I am leaning more towards a single home) next year using my VA loan. I just got my E-4 promotion not too long ago so I have to work on getting E-5 for a while. I am single so I won't be getting BAH. I tried to see if there is anything out there that says I am not allowed to live off post out of pocket. So far nothing. I did ask several people with experience and said I should be able to live off post. Has anyone heard of single soldiers going this route to get started in real estate? I am not desperate to rush marriage or have a child to get BAH. I am looking at the FT Bragg area mostly.

Hello everyone!

My name is Jen and i am currently stationed overseas. I am hoping to do twenty years in the Army. My plan after that is not have to work for anyone else and live off passive income and of course the check that Uncle Sam gives to those who do twenty. Nobody in my first duty station told me anything at all about real estate. I had an average mindset on finances (did not encounter the idea of having my money make me more money). That all changed in my current duty station. I had my NCO (in other words my boss for those outside of the Army) tell me about rental properties. A few more told me about theirs and I was fascinated from the start. The plan is to buy my first one next year after I pay off my debt. In the mean time I am just trying to learn as much as I can! Very thankful to have found Bigger Pockets.