Sometimes you will make a few dollars sometimes you will lose some.

If it takes us 3 months to re-rent, we lose.

Any excess would go into buying another home, and with the VA loan we don't have to worry about a down payment.

What's also risky is relying on a W-2 for the rest of your life while losing money to rent every month haha.As an investor in California, I've seen that it's more of an equity play for the first few years, then the cash flow is projected in years 3-5+.

The hard money lender will not allow you to get into a property that doesn't fit their criteria, because they don't want you to lose money and or worse yet, for them to be in a position to foreclose on you.  

@Phat Dao, most improvements you hire a contractor for LOSE money and a garage is probably one of the worst tbh.

I have $0 at this point but I'm losing sleep trying to figure out how I can make a move on the property.

I've seen TOOOO many people who try to start BRRRRing (this is all BiggerPockets fault) or taking OPM (other people's money) too early, and then losing it.  

Not only will you lose everything (including all of your real estate holdings) in divorce court, you will be responsible for alimony and child support for a very long time.

You can make a lot of money in real estate, but you can also lose a lot of money if you jump in without knowing what you're doing.