All Forum Posts by: Rodney Ferguson

 Hi Rodney, 

Welcome! Using your VA loan to get a 2-4 unit property is a great strategy. You just have to make sure that any ADU has its own separate utility connections (water, electric and gas). There has to be separate shutoffs/breaker boxes for each, and the number of units on the county website must match what is on the property. This is important as there are a lot of ADUs in Tampa that were done without the proper permits and thus won't be able to close with a VA loan. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions!

get familiar with VA loans. They are amazing. Don't ever let anyone tell you that you can't have more than one VA loan. If they tell you this get another lender or broker. You can use a Va loan for up to 4 units. Also, you there is a occupancy requirement but it can easily be extended out because your active duty and possibly overseas would null that but not totally sure on the last part.

Hello Obed Calixte in St. Pete. You need to just learn how to do Searches with Zillow and use Google Map with Street View. You start with Land value on Zillow. You expand you Search to the whole State of Florida. Go through every County and home in on Major Cities to see what a 50 x 100 foot Lot goes for. Compare that to St. Petersburg, Tampa Bay Area. Then, you know how much Vacant Lots are going for. The cheapest Lot in Old Port Tampa, by the MacDill AFB is asking $100,000 and it is split on a drainage canal with no access. One block up from there are five Lots on two corners for $200,000 each. From Interbay Blvd. up towards Gandy Blvd. the Lots go for $300,000 each. All within a couple miles on your way to Kennedy Blvd. and Downtown Tampa. When you do your Due Diligence in all the other Cities around Florida in about an Hour, you look at all the other Home Types on Zillow. Houses, Townhomes, Multi-family, Condos/Co-ops and Apartments. This is the advantage of knowing how to use Zillow to get instant Data. Your Target is Multi-family properties? In Tampa we did not make a lot of them and the ones that the BP members ended up with for fix-ups to raise the Rents and try to make Positive Cash Flow are now on the wrong side of town. You learn Google Map in order to use the satellite picture to see the property from above and close up, before you have to drive the neighborhood. You switch to the Street View to travel up and down the street in front of the house and look at the yard and parking and neighbors. Save you lots of time. You need to go to your Banker and try to get Pre-qualified for a loan and talk with the VA. If this is your First Home, you need to learn the IRS rules for Home Buyers. You can live in your Homesteaded Home for 2 out of 5 years and when you Sell it is Tax-free up to $250,000. Until then, you can watch Grant Cardone's free Youtube video, "The Worst Investment You'll Ever Make."

Welcome to BP!

Hey Rodney, welcome to BP! Mentorships (non formal) come with time as you show up for meetups, engage in the forums, etc. You can also pay for mentorships but make sure you do your research and speak to people who have done the program before to make sure it's money well placed. I would do research about potentially using your VA loan even though you are overseas currently. Are there ever any long stretches that you are in the states?

Hi Rodney,

Congrats on the start of your investment journey! I am not an investor, but do work for a management company. I have been in the real estate business for five years now and have worked in close to 50 rental markets. Thank you for your service! My husband is active duty in the Army.

Although I may not be a mentor, I would love to connect to learn more about what price range and target areas you are looking for. I can also assist with guiding you towards predominate rental markets.