All Forum Posts by: Nolan Chandler

Good evening, @Jin Zhang!

I actually grew up in Riverside for my entire childhood and I am a REALTOR® now.  I am an investor myself and have several properties in my portfolio.  Riverside County is growing like crazy.  Love to help in any way.

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REALTORS® CalDRE: 02221003 | CA Bar: 322013

Hey, @Claire Baltodano!  A bunch of veterans from all the branches actually meet up towards the end of each month at Deft Brewery in SD.  Usually anywhere from 10+ show up and we have investors that are into all different asset classes.  You are more than welcome to join tomorrow.  We meet at 5pm.

We would love to see you there if you can make it!

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REALTOR® CalDRE: 02221003 | CA Bar: 322013

Rah, Daniel.

That's great that you both are ready to embark on this journey.  Some things to consider:

1. Yes, as long as she has enough entitlements remaining, she can use her VA loan while you move to your new primary residence and keep your VA loan at the former, now rental, property.

2. There are VA loan limits per county, so just be aware of those limits and act accordingly.

3. You can do this "alternating," as you put it, but if you exceed your entitlement amount, you will have to free up your (or her) VA entitlements in order to continue as you go. Lenders would be knowledgeable about the restoration process if you decide to pursue that particular route.

4. Otherwise, tapping into equity to further grow your portfolio is an excellent way to put money to use in order to grow your wealth.  Just make sure not to over-leverage, and that sentiment means something different to each individual.  So, it is more a reflection rather than a hard number or percentage anyone can give to you.

Happy to discuss any of this more in depth if you ever wanted; otherwise good luck on your new endeavors.

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REALTOR® CalDRE: 02221003 | CA Bar: 322013

@Robin Simon okay, thank you!

Greetings, BP Community!

I have began working with an agent in Louisville, and he gave me a list of vendors, to include a lender referral. I am looking at a fourplex, or possibly up to a 6-unit, in Louisville. He has not responded to my initial email yet, but would like to speak to multiple lenders anyway for a DSCR loan, so if anyone has recommendations for an agent or broker, I would greatly appreciate it. Additionally, I am also looking for an insurance agent/broker in the area as well.

Thank you!

Hey, @Alec Jacobs!

House hacking implies living at the property. For how long is usually determined by "intent to live there as your primary residence." Can life happen (get a new job, other emergency, etc.) and you have to move? Sure. Is it more suspicious if you leave after one month? Yes. After a year and a half? Probably not. It all depends. What you definitely don't want to go anywhere near is mortgage fraud. I personally house hacked in the military and know a close friend that did too. She bought with a VA loan, rented the other rooms in the house out to servicemembers and then she had to PCS to California about a year and a half later. She can still rent that house out because she had the intent to live there as her primary residence, and had to move based on orders. Even if she just decided to move on her own (assuming not bound by military orders) at that time, it still would likely be okay. Speak to lenders to get a feel as well. Just my two cents. I would be happy to discuss if you ever wanted to in more detail.

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REALTOR CalDRE: 02221003 | CA Bar: 322013

He, @Amran Musaid!

Cap rate is based on the market the property is in.  And usually, you want to analyze a property based on its current income.  However, as you pointed out, it is vacant, so not current income to base it off of.  I would research market rents for that property's unit size/mix and be conservative in your analysis.  Once you get the conservative rents in that area and the current cap rate for that area (a broker can help with this), then you can have a much better understanding of what you should pay for that property (also taking into consideration capex needed, etc.).

Hope this helps, and happy to discuss further if ever need be.

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REALTOR® CalDRE: 02221003 | CA Bar: 322013

Hey, @Ryan Arbeiter! 

My take on this is to have a balance between education and action.  Each person will be different in how long they will need to learn as everyone has a different base of knowledge to go off of.  Hate not being able to say “yes” or “no” to the 1-2 years question, but just keep the balance in mind that taking action is also very important because some people get carried away with education and never take action.  I spent about 4 months of intensely learning about real estate investing before taking action. 

Similarly, for where to put your money, that is going to be a risk assessment for yourself. Personally, my wife and I have kept our stock portfolios in place and have not moved those out and into real estate.  We actually have that as our reserve fund for our real estate portfolio.  But, some have all their wealth focused on real estate and are incredibly successful.

I hope that at least my personal experience gives some guidance.  Would be happy to discuss more if you ever wanted to.

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REALTOR® CalDRE: 02221003 | CA Bar: 322013

Hey, @Edwin Batte!

We used him, and he was able to find us pretty good insurance, and is able to look for bundles as well.  Hope that this helps.

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REALTOR® CalDRE: 02221003 | CA Bar: 322013

Hey, @Jon Sabino! 

Congratulations on wanting to educate yourself for your future.  In my opinion, it seems like the best method may be to listed/read a few different strategies to gain exposure to the gist of all, and then from there pick something to focus on and then consume a lot of education in that realm.  For instance, if you learn about wholesaling, flipping, buy & hold, house, hacking, and short-term rentals, you may learn about each of those on a basic level (but enough to know whether you would be interested in pursuing it further) and then can explore that selected topic more in detail.

House hacking is often a great way for beginners because you can get in for lower amounts down, etc. and then you can scale from there.  If you have not already, many people read Rich Dad Poor Dad as a foundational book, and then read more from there.  One that is popping up on BP now is the Small and Mighty Real Estate Investor that focuses more on a smaller portfolio with a specific reason for doing it that way.  Maybe that appeals to your end-goal, or maybe it doesn't.  I hope this helps give a starting point and would be willing to discuss further if you ever wanted.

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REALTOR® CalDRE: 02221003 | CA Bar: 322013