Thank you all for your help, this was the first time I had really used the calculator. It seem the big question was about the back story, I am in the Navy and will be returning from deployment very soon. I read Brandon Turner's book on real estate investing while on deployment. It inspired me and gave me a good idea of what I need to do. Now it's just trying to apply the skills I've read about. He talked quite a bit about house hacking, how that can get you to more units faster, and help with cash flow in the long run. My idea was that I could get back to Georgia and I could use my VA loan to get into a rental unit, to house hack.
In regards to the VA loan I was under the impression that it will secure 100% financing and I would only need to cover some of the closing costs that cannot be wrapped into the loan. I'm not sure how much I would need to come with for the closing costs. I more or less used $1500 as a place marker.
As far as vacancy goes, I would need to get some more historical data on this property and when I get home I plan to do that, as well as walk the property to see what all needs to be fixed. From the owners of the property, they have said that all units are rent ready and that 6 of the 9 units are currently rented.
Finally the $50k in repairs was a number given by the current owners. I would be willing to do some work myself that does not required a licensed professionals. This would help cut down on the costs, I was thinking I could add this cost into the loan. I think you have a good point with the recently constructed apartments, I would have to make sure to add some kind of value that they are not giving in order to stay competitive with them. Currently the owner pays for utilities. if I wanted to maximize profits I would put that on the tenants, but if I continue to pay, that might help bring people to want to live there. Right now the rents are at the most $550/month. This is way below what they could be getting, the typical rent in this area is $700-900 per month. The property is in an A class area, right across from a nice school. According to Zillow it is 7/10. It is also close to down town, allowing easy access to stores and restaurants.
P.S. The lay out of the units is: one quadplex that has 2 bed/one bath each, there is a "warehouse" in the back that has been converted to a 2 bed/one bath and an efficiency unit, a duplex next to that that is a 2 bed/one bath on both sides. Finally, there is the cottage on the front right that is a 2 bed/one bath.
Thank you again for all you help, I hope this answered most of your questions. @Henry Derbes @Shane Cummings @Ramon Purifoy
