All Forum Posts by: Joel Allen

@Mike Offenheiser

I recommend connecting with @Taj Akinbode.  He’s an investor-friendly and investor-focused real estate agent in Houston that would be a great fit for what you’re looking for.

Vladimir,

If you end up deciding on San Antonio, I'd recommend connecting with @Hamp Lee III.  He's an investor-friendly real estate agent in San Antonio, he's very active here on BP, and is a fellow real estate investor himself as well.

Thanks for the mention @Hamp Lee III

Reginald - When you applied with those lenders, did they run the scenario as a conventional mortgage or a VA loan. You're a military veteran, so it's worth having the lender pull a Certificate of Eligibility (COE) to see if you have remaining VA loan entitlement.

Whereas other loan products have strict DTI requirements, the VA loan focuses more on residual income. This is the discretionary income you have remaining each month after all major expenses and obligations are paid. You must have sufficient discretionary income left over, based on a sliding scale of geographic region and family size. A lender experienced with the VA loan can help analyze your situation and determine if you meet VA residual income guidelines.

One other note...is your new job in Connecticut in the same industry as your previous job in NYC?  If you're continuing to work in the same industry, the lender should have the ability to view this as an intra-industry job change and utilize your income from your new job once you have 30 days worth of paystubs. 

@Rebecca Webbe

Standard VA home loans are intended to put military members and veterans into move-in ready homes that don't require significant repairs.

However, there is a separate loan product called the VA Renovation loan, which essentially packages a home purchase loan and a home improvement loan into a single product. This allow veterans to purchase a home in need of renovation/repairs and fund those renos/repairs as part of the mortgage. The general eligibility criteria for a VA Renovation Loan mirror the standard VA loan, but it does require extra steps because it involves quotes and work from a contractor registered with the VA.

Not every lender offers the VA Renovation loan, and lenders may have different limits/overlays. For example, the lender I work for has a $50K cap on the renovation cost for our VA Renovation loans.

@Amika B. is exactly right. A Realtor will be able to put together a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA), which will will identify the price points of homes recently sold that are comparable to your home in terms of location, square footage, beds/baths, etc.

Texas is a non-disclosure state for real estate, meaning the purchase price of a home does not have to be reported to government entities (e.g. tax appraiser) or made a matter of public record.  This makes finding data on comparable sales through Zillow or Realtor on your own very difficult.

@Kevin Johnson

Welcome to BP!  This is a great community of individuals willing to share their experiences and expertise.

Columbia is a great city!  Wishing you much success in your investing journey.  Let me know if I can assist in any way.

@KaiWei Tang

I applaud you for taking some important steps toward purchasing your first property.  It sounds like you are working on educating yourself and living within your means.

I'll echo what several others have said...if you have the ability to qualify for a conventional mortgage to purchase an investment property, I'd recommend making that your first option. A conventional mortgage will have a more advantageous interest rate than a DSCR loan and offers some other benefits.

You mentioned an FHA loan, but that mortgage type is intended for a primary residence. Since you won't be moving to San Antonio for 3-4 years from now, purchasing a home here in San Antonio with an FHA, VA, or USDA loan won't be an option.

If you'd like to take some time to review your specific situation and run some financing numbers/scenarios, let me know.  And I'd definitely recommend connecting with @Hamp Lee III...he's an awesome Realtor here in San Antonio, is active here on BP, and is also a real estate investor himself.

After a search in the FHA guidelines I see:

"The appraiser must determine if the subject property possesses sufficient remaining economic life to warrant a long-term mortgage, assuming a reasonable level of continued maintenance. If the property does not warrant a long-term mortgage it will be ineligible for FHA mortgage insurance."

But, in your situation it seems the issue is not with the FHA mortgage but with the down payment/closing cost. Are you utilizing a down payment assistance (DPA) program? Many of these programs are deferred or forgivable second liens…sounds like perhaps the specific DPA program you're using has a stipulation that the property must have sufficient economic life for the life of the loan.

@Dylan Hunter

Thank you for your service.  I don’t have the exact experience you’re looking for (management consulting).  But I’m a fellow military veteran that got my MBA, transitioned out of the military, settled in San Antonio, and am now am a mortgage lender.  I’d be happy to be a resource for you as you make your transition out of the military and move to San Antonio. 

@Saad Munir

Texas is a great state with several great areas to invest.  If you decide to invest in San Antonio, I’d recommend connecting with @Hamp Lee III.

He’s a real estate agent in San Antonio who is active here on BP.  And he’s also a real estate investor himself.