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Travis Hosp
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Looking for advice on how to acquire my first rental (Military Vet)

Travis Hosp
Posted

Hello,

I am new to real estate investing and I am starting the initial research on how to go about acquiring my first rental.

First is financing a deal. I don't have a whole lot to put down but I do now make six figures in my current career and have extra money to start saving each month for whatever expense may come about. I also have access to a VA loan, have any of you leveraged the VA loan putting zero down? I know this is not ideal but I am sure there is a way to manage it especially If I can house hack a multi family building.

I am also open to any meetups in the STL area since that is my local market. I am open to investing out of state working with a good property manager. I have looked into REI Nation, they market really well for new investors but I am sure they have big fee's and a few horror stories. How have you guys gone about finding a trust worthy PM?

Again, I am new to all of this but very dedicated to learn/be mentored to get my feet wet and build a portfolio over time. I am also open to looking at commercial investments such as storage units or flex space; but that could be further down the road and require much more capital. 

Thanks for taking the time to read and respond! Looking forward to getting to know some of you.

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Hamp Lee III
  • Real Estate Agent
  • San Antonio, TX
792
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Hamp Lee III
  • Real Estate Agent
  • San Antonio, TX
Replied

Welcome to BiggerPockets!

Using your VA loan is a great way to start. I'm active duty Air Force with four properties, three are VA loans.

We can connect on a chat to share how I did it.

I wish you all the best.

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Travis Hosp
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Travis Hosp
Replied

I appreciate the reply, that would be fantastic!

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Wale Lawal
Agent
  • Real Estate Broker
  • Houston | Dallas | Austin, TX
2,174
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4,085
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Wale Lawal
Agent
  • Real Estate Broker
  • Houston | Dallas | Austin, TX
Replied

@Travis Hosp

To start a successful real estate investment, leverage your VA loan, build a savings cushion, find a reliable property manager, and continue your education. VA loans offer competitive interest rates and no PMI, making them ideal for house hacking and multifamily properties. Explore other financing options, find a reliable property manager, and network with professionals to get pre-approved for a VA loan.

Good luck!

  • Wale Lawal
  • [email protected]
  • (832) 776-9582
  • User Stats

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    Austin McClain
    Agent
    #2 Out of State Investing Contributor
    • Real Estate Agent
    • Ohio
    515
    Votes |
    267
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    Austin McClain
    Agent
    #2 Out of State Investing Contributor
    • Real Estate Agent
    • Ohio
    Replied

    If you can house hack with the VA loan (live in a unit and rent the others), that would be a great way to build your portfolio without needing a lot of money for the down payments.

  • Austin McClain
  • [email protected]
  • 614-710-4827
  • User Stats

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    Nathan Gesner
    Property Manager
    Agent
    Pro Member
    • Real Estate Broker
    • Cody, WY
    40,016
    Votes |
    27,179
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    Nathan Gesner
    Property Manager
    Agent
    Pro Member
    • Real Estate Broker
    • Cody, WY
    ModeratorReplied
    Quote from @Travis Hosp:

    1. Educate yourself on the basics. Not every property makes a good investment. You need to understand how to evaluate a property and the kind of return it will produce, then evaluate properties until you find one that works.

    2. Understand how a property manager works. You will eventually move away and need someone to manage the property for you. It's never too early to start looking for a quality PM.

    3. Wealth comes from holding real estate long-term. Find a way to finance this property so you can hold it forever, then repeat every time you move. You could easily have 5 - 10 properties and retire financially free in 20 years.

    4. House hacking is a great place to start. You probably don't need much this early in life. Buy a fourplex, live in one unit, and rent the other three out. When you PCS, rent out your unit and the property should easily cash flow. Or you can buy a large house and rent out the spare bedrooms. A little sacrifice today will pay off big in 10-20 years.

    1. Start with BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginners Guide (free). It will familiarize you with the basic terminology and benefits. Then you can read a more in-depth book like The Book On Rental Property Investing by Brandon Turner or The Unofficial Guide to Real Estate Investing by Spencer Strauss.

    2. Get your finances in order. Get rid of debt, build a budget, and save. The idea that you can build wealth without putting any money into it is a recipe for disaster and the sales pitch of gurus trying to steal your money. A wise investor will not try to get rich quick with shortcuts. If you can't keep control of your personal finances, you are highly unlikely to succeed in real estate investing. Check out my personal favorite, Set For Life by Scott Trench , or The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey.

    3. As you read these books, watch the BiggerPockets podcasts. This will clarify and reinforce what you are reading. You can hear real-world examples of how others have built their investment portfolio and (hopefully) learn to avoid their mistakes.

    4. NETWORK!!! Get out of your comfort zone. Stop hanging out with your deadbeat buddies that spend all day drinking, talking sports, and otherwise wasting away. Go to BUILD YOUR TEAM at the top of the screen and look for local investors or meetups in your area. You can also find real estate investing groups through meetup.com, facebook, or a Google search. Birds of a feather flock together!

    5. Now you need to figure out how to find deals and pay for them. Again, the BiggerPockets store has some books for this or you can learn by watching podcasts, reading blogs, and interacting on the forum. A handy search bar in the upper right makes it easy to find previous discussions, blogs, podcasts, and other resources. BiggerPockets also has a calculator you can use to analyze deals and I highly recommend you start this as soon as possible, even if you are not ready to buy. If you consistently analyze properties, recognizing a good deal will be much easier when it shows up. Find Brandon's videos on YouTube for the "four square" method of analyzing homes and practice. It doesn't take long to learn how to spot a good deal.

    6. Study the market. You can learn to do this independently or get a rockstar REALTOR to lead the way. I highly recommend a well-qualified REALTOR who works with investors and knows how to help you best.

    7. Jump in! Far too many get stuck in the "paralysis by analysis" stage, thinking they just don't know enough to get started. You could read 100 books and still not know enough because certain things must be learned through trial and error. You don't need to know everything to get started; you need a foundation to build on and the rest will come through experience and then refining your education.

    You can build a basic understanding of investing in 3-6 months. How long it takes to be financially ready is different for everyone. Once you're ready, create a goal (e.g. "I will buy at least one single-family home, duplex, triplex, or fourplex before the end of 2019") and then do it. Real estate investing is a forgiving world; the average person can still make money even with some big mistakes.

  • Nathan Gesner
  • business profile image
    The DIY Landlord
    4.7 stars
    149 Reviews

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    Replied

    @Travis Hosp

    I am in the same boat as you right now. I am working to understand certain areas of the STL market and taking the steps to begin investing. STLREIA seems to be fairly active. I have attended a few of their virtual meetups and have enjoyed it so far. 

     Checkout this episode of the podcast. I am not a veteran/military but found it interesting. Episode 982.

    https://open.spotify.com/episode/27etuPRcudKcI1z1lqKh1x?si=ngG7FP2STLauKn4ejTc0Bg

    Let's connect!

    User Stats

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    7
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    Matt Quinn
    • Lender
    • Saint Louis, MO
    7
    Votes |
    13
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    Matt Quinn
    • Lender
    • Saint Louis, MO
    Replied
    Quote from @Travis Hosp:

    Hello,

    I am new to real estate investing and I am starting the initial research on how to go about acquiring my first rental.

    First is financing a deal. I don't have a whole lot to put down but I do now make six figures in my current career and have extra money to start saving each month for whatever expense may come about. I also have access to a VA loan, have any of you leveraged the VA loan putting zero down? I know this is not ideal but I am sure there is a way to manage it especially If I can house hack a multi family building.

    I am also open to any meetups in the STL area since that is my local market. I am open to investing out of state working with a good property manager. I have looked into REI Nation, they market really well for new investors but I am sure they have big fee's and a few horror stories. How have you guys gone about finding a trust worthy PM?

    Again, I am new to all of this but very dedicated to learn/be mentored to get my feet wet and build a portfolio over time. I am also open to looking at commercial investments such as storage units or flex space; but that could be further down the road and require much more capital. 

    Thanks for taking the time to read and respond! Looking forward to getting to know some of you.

    A VA loan on a 2-4 unit with no money down is a great way to start! Below are a couple of local real estate events. I'm local in St. Louis, would be happy to connect or meet up.

    https://www.stlreihappyhour.com/

    https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tours-pours-august-tickets-7523...

    User Stats

    176
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    Hector Perez
    Professional Services
    • Flipper/Rehabber
    • Houston, TX
    74
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    176
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    Hector Perez
    Professional Services
    • Flipper/Rehabber
    • Houston, TX
    Replied

    I think yes, you can leverage your VA loan.

    But before you do that, you need to make sure you have money aside in case of unforeseen circumstances.

    ideally, if you buy a fixer-upper and can get 100% of the loan + renovations + Closing costs covered on the loan, then after renovation, you can refinance it to rent. That will be perfect. but you still need additional cash to make the loan payments + refinance closing costs, other miscellaneous costs.

    When I started I didn't have a lot of resources, so starting wholesaling then fixing and flip to create cash, before I did my first rental

    Of course there are other ways to buy a rental, but these are my two cents

  • Hector Perez
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    Smart Real Estate Investing
    0.0 star
    0 Reviews