All Forum Posts by: Joel Allen

@Mike Blanco

The area you described (Fair Oaks Ranch all the way down to Alamo Heights) covers a large portion of the northern part of San Antonio.  In general, the single family homes in these areas tend to be on the higher end of the price spectrum, but of course there are exceptions within such a large area.

The more common term for ADUs that we use here in San Antonio is 'casita'.  If you include that as a keyword in your search, that would be a good starting point.  I did a quick search on Realtor.com a moment ago with 'casita' as the keyword, and it resulted in 54 properties currently for sale within San Antonio.

You'll want to check the HOA restrictions in the neighborhood you decide to purchase in, and check the zoning to ensure the unit was added legally.

@Kendrick Pratt

Welcome to BP!  @JD Martin hit the nail on the head, especially related to interest rate and capex.  You'll definitely want to factor those in to your numbers.

Keep in mind as well, VA loans are designed to purchase a primary residence. That may be your intent (to purchase the home, live in it for a year or more, and then rent it out), but from your post it sounds like you may be planning to make this a rental from Day 1. If that's the case, you'll need to look at other financing options besides the VA loan.

@Alex Guerrero

A couple worthwhile things to think about as you describe your scenario:

1. About a week ago, Bexar County announced a homestead exemption to provide a $5,000 deduction from the appraised value of primary homes.  It will save homeowners $15 per year on their property tax bill, and will be layered on top of other homestead exemptions already in place for the city of San Antonio and other taxing entities’ jurisdictions.  So, not a huge impact to your numbers, but good to be aware of.  Source:  Bexar County's homestead exemption to cut $15 off property tax bill (sanantonioreport.org)

2.  When you're running your numbers to determine your sell vs. rent decision, keep in mind that if you decide to keep the home and rent it out, you'll need to switch from a homeowner's insurance policy to a landlord insurance policy.  In general, landlord policies cost about 25% more than a homeowner's policies.

Neither one of these may drastically alter your decision, but want to make sure you have accurate numbers to work with.

@Nick Lawler

I was stationed in Charleston for a few years before PCSing here to Texas.  Charleston’s a great place…I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

We had an investment property in Charleston that we sold a couple years ago.  The realtor we used to sell the home was Jeremy Wilson with Chuck Town Homes Real Estate. He was great to work with...great communication and a real professional throughout the process, especially considering I was a thousand miles and a time zone away.  He’s a full-service agent so he can help you out in the buying process too.

@Bradley Snyder - The SkillBridge program underwent a change in October 2021 in which approval for companies to participate as SkillBridge providers was centralized to the DoD level.  Previously, each military branch of service had its own vetting criteria and approval process.  While this new process adds some standardization, it does limit some of the flexibility within the program.

The current listing of DoD-approved SkillBridge companies can be found at:  

DOD SkillBridge - Authorized SkillBridge Organizations (osd.mil)

The list can be filtered by location, organization type, and delivery method.  A quick search of the keyword 'Mortgage' shows 11 current mortgage companies approved for SkillBridge.

@Ryan Devlin

Congrats on the upcoming retirement and for starting your planning and preparations several years in advance.  You're spot-on with utilizing Skillbridge.  In addition to @Kristen L Garner's advice for licensing and continuing ed, it would also be worth looking into Xinnix (specifically Ground School) for familiarization and foundational MLO training.

In the meantime, I recommend checking out 'The Loan Officer Podcast' which provides really valuable discussions both for new and experienced MLOs...topics range from getting started in the industry, to building relationships/networks, to interviews with top producers, to discussions about current events/policy changes within the industry.

@Jonathan Michael Hunn -- To apply for the property tax exemptions, submit Form 50-114 and supporting documents to the appraisal district of the county in which the property is located.  In Section 3 of this form, it asks if any portion of the property for which you are claiming an exemption is income-producing and requires you to identify the percentage of the property that is income-producing.  Your property tax exemption is proportional to the percentage of the property that you occupy.

@Orlando Goodon - The best way to determine if you qualify for a VA loan is to contact a lender and have them pull your VA Certificate of Eligibility (COE). Your post indicates that you had a medical-related discharge, which could allow you to be eligible for a VA loan even if you don't meet the typical service criteria.

The COE contains info such as how much VA loan entitlement you have and whether or not you are exempt from paying the VA Funding Fee.

Thanks for the mention @Jonathan Greene.  As always, you provided some great advice and insight.

@Jonathan Michael Hunn -- It sounds like you and I have a number of professional and career similarities...I'd be happy to connect with you and talk more in-depth.

The VA loan is a powerful tool for purchasing a primary residence that can house-hacked or eventually turned into an investment. We can definitely get into more depth about the VA loan, but two quick tips that may be helpful with the details you provided in your post:

1. Do you plan on using the VA loan while you're still in the military or after you transition out? If you are purchasing after you transition out, the VA Funding Fee is eliminated if you're receiving VA disability income for a disability related to your military service. The VA Funding Fee for first-time borrowers is 2.3% of the loan amount, so this can be a substantial benefit.

2.  It sounds like you'll be living in Texas.  When you're looking for the right home to purchase, run the numbers and be sure that it will make sense if the home becomes a rental later on.  For example, if you're looking at the home's previous tax assessments as a gauge for property taxes, be sure to note whether the previous homeowner had a homestead exemption or a disabled vet exemption.  You won't be eligible for either of those once you convert it to a rental (those are only for primary residences).

@Carlos Villegas

Best of luck as you kick off your investing journey. I recommend taking a look at VA Pamphlet 26-7, Chapter 3, Topic 5…this is the VA Loan guidelines for occupancy.

Bottom Line: When purchasing with a VA loan, you must certify that you intend to occupy the home as your primary residence within a reasonable period (typically 60 days). The VA loan guidelines do not define a specific period of time that you must occupy the home before turning it into a rental (which is probably why you have gotten different answers from different people you talk to). The general rule of thumb is that the property should be the primary residence for at least 12 months.