As a VA, you’d want to build on that by getting familiar with tools that real estate professionals use.

One possibility is building a duplex in Peoria, while it's not the best rental market, getting a duplex at a possibly much cheaper price than market value is extremely appealing.

Real estate purchase using reasonable leverage, at todays interest rates, will build up equity through amortization.  

Glad you're building your business while still active duty, that's a powerful move! 

So the goal of DSCR is now to figure out the best real estate cash flowing strategy to pair with DSCR loans as you scale your portfolio. anyone looking for help going DSCR, feel free to reach out as I build my portfolio with these and help investors scale theirs as a lender.

Wondering if you have advice on me just being the bank, where I purchase a house and structure a rent to own with him and have him build up a 30% cash down payment and some equity and then me sell the house to him at a locked in price.  

But I’d say the key to success is building a reliable team on the ground.

With less experienced or just poor planning operators, it isn't uncommon that they spend years distributing all the cash out to the owners, and then the time comes for a multi million dollar refresh to maintain the hotel brand, and no one wants to cough up the money back into the entity.

It’s a great reminder to trust your own due diligence and not let others make critical decisions for you, like hiring a property manager.For future investments, building a trusted team and maintaining direct oversight is key, even with remote deals.

Knowing your long-term plans can help you build a long-term financing strategy so that you are not just worried about purchase number 4, but also purchases 5 - 20+ (if you plan to continue to invest).I'm an investor and licensed mortgage broker.