It's been one heck of a ride thus far!
It has been a while since I've posted. Here is what has been going on behind the scenes.
Started a refi on my personal residence with a cash out option back in April. This was going to do 2 things for me; 1st get me some capital to work with to kick off this investing career. 2nd free up my VA for a future house hack situation.
Not all has gone well. Remember, this refi process started back in April and around that time I had a fair market assessment that a lender associate of mine looked at and said that according to the comps used, my house should appraise around $310K. Fast fwd to Aug when the appraisal was finally done and I'm looking at $280K value and I owe $275K. Not cool, and the mix of emotions that ran through me were all over the board. I felt 1st that the process took too long anyway but the $30K difference left me a little deflated... temporarily.
So now I'm regrouping, and coming from a different angle. I have done a IRRRL still freeing up my VA for that future house hack and saving me half a point on my loan and putting $100/mo back in my pocket (not huge but it works for me in the position I'm in. Btw can I consider that cashflow???). And now the game is seeking out some owner carry opportunities here in the Boise/Treasure Valley area of Idaho.
All is not lost. If anything I have enjoyed the fact that this situation has caused me to think outside of the box on ways to get into the game officially and not just be a spectator. The goal is to close on 1 property before the end of 2015 and I will be successful.
So if there is anyone out there looking to get rid of a property I'd surely be interested in seeing if it is a fit for the both of us.
Thanks BP for all of the education and for creating a space for someone like me to be able to share my story.