New To Investing (Military)

[Julian Demacabalin]

Hi guys I just recently started getting into real estate and have been doing my own research. I'm in the military and just wanted some guidance if I should use a VA loan to get my first property or should I try to find a lender. Any help is welcome!

[Albert Weaver]

Hi Julian,

First, thank you for your service.  Second, congrats on getting in the mindset of owning real estate and leveraging your military career to do so.  One of the greatest stories I heard was a soldier who was going to retire at the age of 38 with 10 rental properties completely paid off by consistently buying houses where he was stationed and put them on 15 year mortgages.  With his pension and 10 rental checks, he didn't need to work again.  Although you might not stay in the military for a full 20 years, leverage those benefits the best you can for as long as you can.  Real Estate will do the rest.  

Yes, use your VA loan and ideally use it on a multifamily property (1-4 units). After a while you can refinance out of your VA loan and then use it again. I would repeat that as many times you can. Next few years, will be difficult for many as the economy goes into a recession, but you'll have a stable job, access to great loans and in markets with heavy rental needs (areas around bases).

Good luck. 

Albert