All Forum Posts by: Tariq B.

@Jassem A. Those are the exact gift cards I am talking about. They will not accept them anymore.

@Russell Brazil lol ya I remember them, I never used them cause I always had the military discount...that will probably be next to go, I save hundreds a year if not thousands with that discount. 

Hello all, So some of you may or may not be aware of the practice of buying second hand Lowe's/HD gift cards online in return for a little discount. 

It was something I started to do every now and again. Didn't see much problem with the practice since Loews had already received their money when the gift card was purchased, i was just other person using it. It was a good way to save 8-10% off the purchase.

However, I went to use one yesterday and was told they can no longer accept E-gift cards, so apparently you need to have the physical card now (mine was on paper, since that's how they come). The answer, they couldn't help me with the balance and they received a email from corporate telling them not to take them. Apparently it is linked to fraud. Which kinda threw me off and made me feel guilty, then I remembered I did absolutely nothing wrong I was just the consumer stuck in the middle.

I'll have to see if I get my money back from the 3rd party, I filed a claim yesterday.

Oh well, it was good while it lasted. I'm sure other companies will probably take the same action soon, so beware.

@Lee Scarlett What's this trick you speak of, I am curious. Shoot me a PM. Would love to hear it.

Have not touched the TSP from day one, and it's frustrating when individuals looks at you crazy when you say the TSP is a waste of time.

Hello Fellow BP'ers,

So I am going to put out there a piece of information that I have been told over and over again by so many people, and just took their "information" for truth since I kept hearing it.

Naturally I assumed it was true, then one day after doing some random research I came across some great information that I'm sure others would find very helpful as again you have probably been told the same misconception as me. This is:

"You can only use the VA loan one time, if you want to use it again you either have to pay off the loan or refinance it to other means of funding."

This is not the case.

I am not going to break down all the ins and outs of the program of VA as it is getting late and that would take too much time. But I will give you enough to get the digging yourself.

Anyways, when it comes to the VA loan you are able to borrow up to $417,000 NO MONEY DOWN..I say that in caps because it is important. People think that, that number is the max they can borrow. That is not the case that is the amount you can borrow that you would not need to put money down. If you go over that number you would have to put some form of money down. There is a formula for this but again. Wordy.

However the most important part to this post is that you can indeed use the VA multiple times with having a VA loan outstanding. It is called 2nd tier entitlements. What this means is again we go back to that magic number $417,000. So let's say you buy your first property as an Owner occupant it cost $100,000 you live in it for a year and want to buy another property and rent out the first. You now could use the VA loan again except this time you would only be able to be money down free up to $317,000 ($417,000-$100,000). So two properties for no money down and no PMI (except for the hefty funding fee) is a pretty sweet deal. I just wanted to share this information because it has been had over and over again that you can only use it once. That is clearly not the case.

I hope this reaches the individuals that had be lead wrong just like me. ALSO I wanted to note that the $417,000 number depends on location. That number is the minimum but in other areas where there is a higher cost of living the secured loan number can be as 800k+

Happy Buying,

Tariq

Everything @Timothy Colman mentioned is spot on.

Yes you can use your VA loan for a rental. You have to wait a year though before doing so. I actually bought my first place with a VA loan and had it rented out 7 months later. They never questioned it or made a fuss. (I had orders so that would of protected me in the case anyways, but again they never asked)

VA loan is for veterans aswell. I think you need a discharge that was not dishorable, not sure. If you are a injured veterans who claims benifits up to 10% you do not have to pay the funding fee. This could potentially save you thousands.

THE BEST information you can pull from this is what was mentioned above, that there is a common misconception that you can only use the loan one time. However that is not the case you can use it till you max out the secured funding which is generaly $417,000 HOWEEVER (it was not mentioned, that that number can change from location to location. but I imagine GA being a lower cost of living it would still be the generic number).

Let me know if you have any other questions.

There is only one way to stop mold. Find the location where you are getting to much moisture. Could be a leak in the roof or a leak in the wall. But more likely it is a leak somewhere where the window meets the insert to the house. 

If you have mold then yes you would need to replace the drywall and insulation. Of course after you have found the source of the problem

Forgot to mention gosection8. That is the only website I use if I am gearing towards section 8 longest turn around was 2 weeks. Usually get quite a few leads.

Inspections can be a pain. But I wouldn't let that deter you. If you should fail they will tell you what you failed on and have you fix it then usually they will be back out in a week or two to reinspect what previously failed. You can fail from anything to a handle being off a kitchen cabinet to low water pressure. The only thing that is a little frustrating is the inspections can be very subjective. The list they hand you is not all inclusive. I once failed due to not knowing it was a requirment to have a CO detector.

This happened yesterday.

At one of my places that happens to be vacant as I just started working on it.

As I'm heading towards the back of the house to work on a window I see someone go under the deck..WTH?

So I grab a hammer and go to investigate. Guy is crouched sitting under the deck. Like he belongs there and nothing is wrong. Like this is his place.

Come to find out he was stashing his drugs under my deck and getting high there.

Lovely. Least he was nice and apologetic about it I suppose.