All Forum Posts by: Scott Williams

You can also make it a requirement in your offer that the current owner get one of the units open before purchasing the building so you can move in.  

Does anyone STR in Watertown? I'm thinking about turning one side of my duplex into an STR instead of LTR. Any ideas?

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $165,000

Buy and hold househack.

The problem is going to be how much you are approved for, since your income as a PVT is low.  Depending on the location you may be significantly priced out of multifamily real estate especially as a new investor with no landlord experience.  I would probably recommend getting a house and house hacking that way, renting out each room.  Again, what you can afford won't be much, but at least it's a start.  

House hack your current residence by renting out a room.  This allows you to save money and also learn the business.  After your one year is up with your current residence, move, then buy a multifamily with the rest of your entitlement.  

I don't think the deployment should affect if you buy now or not. The deal should be your principle guideline. If you find the deal now, jump on it and find a good property manager locally while you deploy. I would recommend a multi-family and utilizing the VA loan. Then once you move, buy another multi-family at the next duty station with the VA loan again (yes you can if you didn't max out the entitlement). Use the extra money you save on deployment for either reserves or funding the next deal.

1. 1 year

2.  Depends on location, your income, amount of units

3. yes, but it depends

4. Read in the military investing section in the forums for more details.  These topics have been covered in depth.  

Why is your credit bad?  Is it due to missing payments or handling money poorly?  Do you have the resources to begin real estate?  I think if you are having credit score problems you should set yourself up for success by getting finances in order first and read everything you can on real estate.  Real Estate isn't going anywhere and in 6-12 months when you have your finances in order, you can safely jump out and take over the real estate world.

The first question that comes to my mind is where do they want to live in retirement? This will dictate what options are available. I suggest chosing a location with low costs of living which should make a HELOC a better strategy or outright selling the property and using the funds to purchase a house all cash. It really depends on their needs/wants in regards to their retirement.

I have separate accounts established at the credit union I bank with that are specific to each tenant similar to what Thomas S. is discussing.  They don't have access to the main account and I switch the money over each month.  I also give them the option to use Cozy as an alternate.  I never deal with collecting checks or chasing down tenants.