All Forum Posts by: Kevin Hunter

@Juanita Bell, where near Ft. Bragg?  I invest in that area.  DM me if you want to discuss specifics...  Good luck!

@Stephen Richardson, welcome to BP.  This is a great site to learn and network.  A lot of military experience as well.  My advise is to dive into the forums and listen to the podcasts.  You will learn a bunch.  Good luck!

@Gerard Magee, of course.  I love seeing fellow military members on here.  Real estate is a great way to augment salary all while serving this great country.  Awesome!!

@Gerard Magee, welcome to BP and congrats on getting started.  Keep saving, you are off to a great start.  Most investment property down payments I am seeing right now are actually 25% vice 20%, so keep that in mind.  Partnership is something you can do to get past that entry cost.  Another option is out of state investing.  A lot of great areas that will allow you to jump in.....Good luck!

@D Chandler, how long do you plan to be in socal. Are you civilian or military? If you are a civilian, I recommend house hacking with an FHA in Carlsbad or Encinitas. You will generate great rents for rooms, and although the entry price is high, you will likely pay less each month then you are paying right now for rent, and the house will be yours. Find a place that needs a little TLC and you can make even more. There are a lot of Marines and Sailors in that area that would love to rent a room from you and paint and lay hard wood floors for a small discount on a month of rent. I know from experience.....

@Robert Barbieri, happy to help.  Send me a note and I will provide some suggestions!

@Nathan A Waggoner, I suggest you start by talking to people that are already stationed at whatever base you are heading to.  Find out where they live and what they pay.  Find out why they like the area they live in and what areas to avoid.  Utilize the BAH for the tenant you hope to attract to drive your calculations.  

You may also want to repost this post with the base and city that you are moving to.  You could be going to Andrews, Fort Meade, Boling, and many others, so no one know exactly where you are going to provide suggestions.

@Benjamin Cedillos, I have investments in CA, SC, CT, NY, and VA.

@Benjamin Cedillos, please remember that just because a duplex gets 3200 in rent and the mortgage is 1100, does not mean the cash flow is 2100.  In fact, it will be much less.  Not to say this is not a good deal, but your numbers are off.  You need to factor in repair costs (5-10% of rent), capital expenses (big ticket items that you need to replace over time: roof, siding, windows=5-10% of rents), vacancy (your units will not always be rented (8-10% of rents), lawn care and snow removal (maybe not a factor in AZ), property management (you may want to manage it right now, but should factor it in for a later time (10%).  Take a look at one of the BP calculators to see what the actual cash flow is going to be.

All that said, I am sure some folks around here from that area will chime in with area specifics.

As an active duty military myself, you are on the right track.

@Michael McCroan, find a place near base that fellow service members would want to rent.  Make sure the rent projection is below BAH for whatever grade you are targeting.  Military members like to save money by living under BAH rates.  Good luck!