My strong advice is to stay off the web when looking for a lender, Nicole.

Ideally you have your own website as well for direct bookings and can put them on a Reviews page there.These are so valuable in this competitive STR market and will sway a traveler to stay with you or somewhere.For sure, start your own accounts on Airbnb etc and so you own them and this won't happen again.  

They somehow convinced my tenant it would be livable during this and my insurance agent has said they can pay me half a month rent if he stays (which I will pass the savings along to him) and if he decides it’s not live able they will give me a full months rent so he doesn’t have to pay.

Get a high deposit to offset that risk.Our section 8 office will also cover damages like this at the end of a lease.My section 8 tenants tend to stay forever.

I buy throughout the coastal bend but stay away from Robstown and farther south unless I'm buying at dirt value because it's much harder to exit these properties.

Would love to stay in the loop. 

Same question as Michael-rent by the room for $1900 or to a family for $2800 (minus PM fees, so just under $2600)-you said it was because you'd stay in one room in the first case. 

Yes its a VA , yes i will be staying in one side for a bit and leaving the wife and kids in our current home . ill spend over 51% time there for the year and then rent it out. the numbers will be when its fully rented out after i leave. the down payment is so low because i pay 20% of anything over 325K using remaining entitlement on a second home loan via VA I don't care about using the dining room myself i just assume other people do so it'll turn them off?

@Baskar Krishnan your agent or mentor should be able to guide you on this and most of your flip.

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