All Forum Posts by: Joel Allen

@Hamp Lee III - thanks for the mention!

@Jonathan Baum - I sent a message to you.  I’m happy to help!

@Hamp Lee III - thanks for the mention.

@Tony Caputo - Most lenders have an internal LO Referral Desk/Team.  If you have a borrower purchasing in a state you're not licensed in, you can loop in the Referral Desk, they will connect the borrower with an LO from your company that is licensed in that state, and you can receive a portion of the commission once the loan closes.

@Mark Small, you're on target that standard VA home loans are intended to put military members and veterans into move-in ready homes that don't require significant repairs.

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.

@Vito Cicinelli

Welcome to BP!  It's a great place to learn, share ideas, and network.  There’s a solid community here on BP of active duty and veterans as well.

In addition to listening to the BP podcasts, there are also some really good podcasts that focus on real estate investing by military members. All are hosted either by military members or recently separated/retired military:

- Military Cashflow podcast with @Dan Wynn and Mike Glaspie (Mike is a real estate agent)

- The Military Millionaire podcast with David Pere and Alex Felice

- Active Duty Passive Income podcast with Kevin Brenner

@Cole Robbins

Is your hesitation to using the VA loan that you'll be deploying soon, and therefore worried you won't be able to meet the occupancy requirements of the VA loan?

If so, there's good news that the VA loan guidelines allow your spouse to satisfy the occupancy requirement if the veteran is on active duty and cannot personally occupy the dwelling within the typical 60-day period after closing due to deployment.

In other words, you could purchase the home with your VA loan, your wife can move into the home while you're deployed, and then you can occupy the home with her once you return from deployment.

@Mark DiRoma

Welcome to San Antonio!  I'm a lender and investor that lives right here in the city.  @Heath Shepard gave some great advice and is absolutely right that the specific advice is dependent upon your strategy.

San Antonio is a solid market for SFR and small multi-families due to the growing population/economy and the large military population here in 'Military City U.S.A.'. We're home to 4 military installations (Lackland, Randolph, Fort Sam Houston, Camp Bullis), which provides a steady supply of quality, recession-resistant renters.

There are also many investors that have found success with STRs in San Antonio as a result of the steady tourism.  The downtown area draws many visitors, as does Lackland Air Force Base (out-of-town family members attending weekly basic training graduations) and the universities.

@Angelica Aurea

San Antonio is a solid market and has the lowest price point of the four major metro areas in Texas (Dallas, Houston, Austin, San Antonio).  There are still homes here that would meet your critiera (3 bed / 1.5 bath home with a $200K budget) depending on the neighborhood you select...though most will need some repairs or updates.

SA has a relatively strong/stable renter pool thanks to solid economic growth, a large military footprint, and steady tourism.  

It's a large city with continued population and economic growth. It’s the 7th largest city in the US by population (1.5 million people) and had the largest total increase in population of any city in the US between 2020-2021 (+13,626 people).  San Antonio is ‘Military City, USA’ and is home to 4 military bases (Lackland, Randolph, Fort Sam Houston, Camp Bullis). This provides a steady supply of quality, recession-resistant renters.

I'd be happy to discuss San Antonio with you anytime.

@Michael Avillion

Lots of good advice in the replies from @Bryce Jamison and @Marshall Leipprandt.

You're taking a patient approach to make sure the location is right to both extend your military time and kick off your real estate investing journey...nothing wrong with that.

What type of property would you like to purchase after a year? The VA loan allows for the purchase of a 1-4 unit property, which does open up the possibility of 'house-hacking' in which you live in one unit and rent out the remaining units. This fulfills the owner-occupied requirement while also allowing you to get your foot in the door of real estate investing.

Or is your intent to purchase a single-family home and then rent it out once you PCS away from El Paso?

@Marshall Leipprandt touched on a good point about the VA entitlement that can be a roadblock.

If the ‘buyer' assuming the VA loan is a veteran and has sufficient remaining VA entitlement, they can ‘swap out' to use their VA entitlement to free up the seller's entitlement.

If the ‘buyer' is not a qualifying veteran, the seller's VA entitlement stays tied up in the existing mortgage until the home is sold or the mortgage is paid off.

@Danielle Shipp

Thanks to your husband for his service.  I’m an Air Force veteran and have now transitioned into a career as a loan originator.

I’m licensed in Texas and South Carolina, so I don’t have experience with the state-specific licensing requirements in Florida.  But I’m happy to answer any questions your husband may have about the career transition from military to loan originator.