heres my situation:im in the air force and receive about 1600 a month right now with basically no overhead. its likely that i wont be stationed in one place more than 2 years. however ive been thinking that it seems like a good idea to purchase a home where i am stationed and then rent it out to either other airmen or anyone. and when and if i get stationed elsewhere, i can sell the house or keep it as a rental. of course i plan to aggressively find an investment property below market value that will generate cash flow. also i can use this propertys equity to finance another home and etc. does this sound like a workable plan.... thanks

My anxiety comes from securing initial financing and if I can refi into a workable loan after rehab.

Sounds workable....what are land values in the area.

I can't see that happening.As an example.. duplex- gross rent @ 1500 retails for 200k=898 pi (3.5 %)that's a bad deal but so far off the workable mark (150K to make it work with 20% down) and most are like this.maybe I'll luck out on a short sale/reo..

I'm about 6 months away from saving enough for a down payment on a rental property but I have been sending inquiries to properties I see on realtor.com that appear to be workable deals (have positive cash flow).

Beware though, they make it sound easy and workable in any market or area.

Not saying this one is a good deal exactly but if you figured the payment, taxes, and insurance plus another $100 or so for other expenses it would be more workable, assuming you don't pay any utilities, trash or other monthly expenses.Originally posted by "nationwidepi":I often disagree with the 50% rule, but in tis case, it most likely will apply.When you have gross rents of only $600 or less in other cases, the OE including, but not limited to, mortgage, taxes, insurance, management, repairs, & vacancy will surely add up to $300 monthly.Remember, as Jon said, this is a screening tool only and is based on averages.

If the payments were in the $1200 range, you could probably handle half that, and although living on $1400/mo. less your house payment would not be easy, it's at least a start and maybe workable.

If the bank requires 6-12 months seasoning on the cash but only 6 months seasoning on the refinance it may still be a workable option so long as you get your numbers right.

– Dale Carnegie"The most practical, beautiful, workable philosophy in the world won't work - if you won't." - Zig Ziglar Have a wonderful day.