All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

@Andrey Y. By cuts I mean a reduction in the size of the army because of cuts in budget. This could potentially mean less troops at any particular base resulting in less buyers/renters and then would likely follow with decreasing values and rents (depending on the base). I don't think it  would give stability to remaining service members (as far as location) because the army still likes to move people every 3-5 years.

I currently rent, my first months rent I payed via wire transfer per the landlords instructions...turns out it was a digit off on the account number but I didn't notice the transaction not going through and he called me around the 13th of the month. I'm sure that made a great first impression with the landlord haha

@Kenneth Hynes Yes, no matter what I do, I will end up being long distance eventually so I'm trying to plan based off of that.

@Elizabeth Colegrove I think the situation here used to be such that there was a much bigger demand for housing than supply but as Britt posted above, there has been a large influx of new building so it looks like that advantage will be shrinking. I don't think the army will close this base, I think it definitely has a future, but I think what worries me is that with my lack of experience (both in the area and with real estate in general) I'm not sure what kind of effect troop reductions will have on the local market. I'm not completely scared off quite yet.

@Britt Abbey Do you have a prediction for what you think prevailing rental rates are going to be "post haircut"? I like your advice about looking for the "right deal" and I want to make sure I'm using conservative values to analyze. 

Appreciate all your feedback. 

@Joe Villeneuve I like the confidence in your answer haha. It reminds me of my stock investments, at first I tried to only invest in "what I knew." Later I realized I could find better investments by being willing to learn new things and go outside my comfort zone.

@Tyler Flagg It's nice to see somebody in just about the same situation as me, watertown is about the same size as Clovis. The part that bothers me is I know I could save so much BAH by buying. That's an interesting idea to distance hold but locally flip, my original intent was to stay away from flipping as my complete lack of experience makes the process seem pretty intimidating, but I'm willing to look into it as a possibility.

@Sara Cunningham Did you do your distance buys without physically walking through the properties? If so, I'm really interested to see how you mitigated that risk.

@Sibbir Noman I am in the military so the affects of cuts will pretty much follow me wherever I go, just depends on the post. Some posts have a much more diverse local economy than others. Wherever I end up buying, I will end up distance managing or at least distance owning because I will be moved every 2-3 years. I think its the distance buying that concerns me more than the distance owning.

In the town I live in now, the local economy is heavily reliant on the military and with the significant impacts related to potential military cuts my instincts are telling me not to buy here now. Do you think I'm being too risk averse? If I don't buy here I have a few options:

1. Buy in the nearest larger market (1-2 hours away). 

2. Disregard distance as a consideration and buy somewhere where the deal looks good. 

3. Not buy anything until I move to a new location (1-2 years and no idea where I'll be sent). 

Can anyone offer any thoughts or advice? Do you think I'm being too risk averse regarding my current market?

@Ali Boone I'm from Pasadena. I've been away now for going on 8 years but my family is still there. I'd like to end up back somewhere in the LA area again once I'm done with the army.

@Frankie Woods Thanks man, good to meet you!

@Tyler Flagg Thanks for the welcome! I'm currently trying to figure out exactly how I want to incorporate VA loans into my investment plan. Way to dive into the regs haha you can also check out VA Pamphlet 26-7 Lenders Handbook if you're looking for more government documents to go through haha

@Jacob Elbe 

Haha sounds like a lot of the stuff at work. I'm sure it'll be one of the first places you trim the fat when it comes to it, as long as things don't turn around.

@Elizabeth Colegrove 

Was your second VA loan house purchased following a PCS? Do you guys do a 0% down payment when you buy or does that raise the mortgage payment too high to see profits when you convert it to a rental?

I'll be sure to check out your blog! I'm especially interested to see how you self-manage from a distance.