All Forum Posts by: Travis Callihan

@James Marszalek

Thank you for the post and information. I just received orders to my next duty station, Wright-Patterson, Ohio. I am looking at buying my first personal home, and investment home(2 separate properties) when I arrive there.

I would love to know more about the mortgage acceleration tools that you mentioned, since I am using the VA to purchase my personal home.

I just found that the military is sending my family and I to Dayton, OH (Wright-Patterson AFB). I have never been to that area before so I am starting to do some market research.

My wife really wants to buy a personal residence there aside from an investment property so that is going to be an adventure for me.

I am looking for a real estate who is interested in both investment and personal real estate in the area. I am looking to investment in a small SFH or MFH. The plan is to purchase my primary residence utilizing the VA loan and saving my personal cash as a down payment on an investment property.

We have a lot more details on what we are looking for specifically in our personal home and in an investment property, which I can PM.

Thank you for your time and I look forward to hopefully meeting with a lot of you at the local meet-ups in and around the area.

@Wes Carmichael it is perfectly acceptable to "vacate" a primary residence on a deployment. It happens all of the time when troops deploy. As long as it is still his primary residence upon his return from deployment.

@Michael Johnson I am by no means an experienced investor so take my advice with a grain of salt.

When I first joined this site I got tons of great advice, but one thing in particular really stuck with me. One guy asked me, why should I spend my valuable time helping out a new investor? There are hundreds of new investors on this site every month, why should I help you? What do you bring to the table?

At first I had no idea how to respond, I asked myself, what do I bring to the table? Initially my response was nothing, I can't bring anything to the table. But after hours of reading the forums here and interacting with investors I realized that I do bring a lot to the table. I am in the military so I bring a large network of potential renters and investors. I have lived in multiple areas and markets so I bring market knowledge. But one of the biggest thing I can bring is an open mind and a willingness to work. I can bring my work ethic and my physical labor if need be.

I have learned the seasoned investors love helping new investors get into the business, but you need to prove that you are serious and willing to compensate them(not in the form of money) for their time.

You say you have power creativity and you are a people person, so how can you use your strengths to help yourself and help someone who is willing to mentor you?

@Dave Hurt AMEN!!

@Kristy Black I am looking at investment properties in Bedford/Blair counties and would love to get in contact with you.

@Nathaniel Barr did you go through with your deal in Hyndman? I would love to chat sometime about investing in Bedford County, it seems as though our investing community there is very small.

@Ramon Purifoy I would love to invest in real estate where I have family as well, because then I know I could trust them, but my family is from a tiny town in the middle of nowhere and my wife's family is from San Jose, where it is too expensive for me to invest. I think that I am going to do alot of market research and post on here when I find out where my next assignment is and hopefully build a team there so that I can feel confident and secure and begin investing in a property at every duty location. I see success stories on here about it and I think it is a solid strategy in the right markets. 

I also did not know that about the VA loan. That is good option if I buy at my next duty location and then am able to PCS and still used the left over funds to purchase a second home.

@Kevin Hunter @Gary Swank @Colin Smith @Ramon PurifoyI sent you all PM and colleague requests

@John Delosreyes I agree, I would love to use the VA loan and then house hack a multiple unit property, but with a wife and 2 kids I do not think my wife would approve.

I am currently deployed to South West Asia with my home station being in Germany. I am scheduled to return to the states in April but I do not know where I am headed yet. I would love to talk to you all of you guys who own real estate that is geographically separated. The hardest thing right now is that I do not have a team, or group of people I trust in any of the areas that I want to invest in, which is why I have been so hesitant to pull the trigger on a deal.

@Laureano Perez I am in a similar situation, currently stationed overseas and looking to invest. I see you are from Reading, PA is that the area you are looking to invest in?