All Forum Posts by: Jonathan W.

@William HooFatt @Daniel Amsalem Agreed - I would also kindly ask for this attorney's contact information if you could PM me I'd really appreciate it.

Welcome @Brett Sheeran. This has been my strategy here in NOVA as well - though true multifamily housing stock is hard to come by as you are probably already aware. House hacking and basement conversions have worked in my experience. Let me know if you'd like to chat more!

Agree with all of the above about overzealous regulations for these. Voting has consequences!

I'm in your same situation and also prior service. I am holding all of my SFH here in Arlington, Alexandria and FFX county long-term. I view the NOVA market as one of the most stable and safest markets in the US. We are less susceptible to economic down turns because everyone here is a GS-15 married to a Booz Allen contractor and they will keep getting paid by the government regardless of what happens in the real economy. Also, as you highlighted the tenant base is highly reliable, with strong employment, security clearances etc. Additionally, Virginia is better for investing than DC or MD. We've seen a large outflow of people from DC into NOVA and I expect this trend to continue. NOVA is an appreciation market and it is difficult to own a cash-flowing rental here. I would keep it. That being said, if you are still looking to sell I have some buddies with VA loans who would definitely be interested.

Hi @Rohitash Laul as you have already surmised it is very difficult to make the numbers work in our market currently. You need to be creative and/or willing to do a lot of work. I have several properties here in FFX county, Alexandria and Arlington. I've now focused on other markets where the numbers make a lot more sense from a cash flow perspective. Midwest/TX/ etc. where you can buy quadplexes for under 400K. Let me know if you'd like to chat more.

When I advertise my rentals in NOVA I post on apartments.com, zillow, craigslist, and Facebook marketplace. Most of my tenants have been found off apartments.com actually (LTR properties in FFX county, Arlington and Alexandria. I would also recommend double checking your pricing. 

Agree with above posters. A basement conversion could make sense (either STR or LTR depending on how much work/headaches you are willing to take on). I have experience with this strategy in Arlington and Alexandria city. A colleague of mine has bought two properties owner-occupied back to back in Arlington (with a 5% rate and a 7% rate) doing basement conversions and renting rooms, lowering his effective monthly payment on each property to sub 2K each time. I highly prefer Virginia for LTR buy and hold. Let me know if you'd like to discuss further.

Thanks for going through this entire process for Alexandria, William. Very informative for the group. I've fortunately never had to evict in Alexandria city - but it is eye opening to read about the city's attempts to keep a non-paying tenant in your property. Tenant selection is so so much important. I like to rent to people with security clearances for my properties in NOVA. 

Hey Eric. Congratulations on committing to making moves. I'm outside of Ft. Belvoir and have a few properties here in NOVA (all SFH). House hacking has been my approach here, otherwise the numbers don't really work. Would be happy to connect and chat. I'm former military myself.

V/r,

Jon