Obtaining ROI via VA Loan?

[Shaquille Turner]

Hello Bigger Pockets, 

Quick Question: What strategies are you using to obtain ROI via the VA Loan?

My wife and I plan on using the VA loan to fund our first rental property. We live in the Fayetteville, NC area and we want to house hack (i.e. purchase a small multifamily property, live in one side and rent out the other). We are running into two issues: first, there aren't many small multifamily properties on the market in the Fayetteville area, and second, the properties that we are finding require lots of work that the VA Loan may not cover. We don't have much capital available for a down payment, and thus the appeal of the VA Loan.

We are about to tailor our searches, given the constraints of the VA Loan, to single family homes that are more move in ready. Good idea or nah?

Have any of you had success using the VA Loan to get ROI in a house un-hackable environment? If so, can you describe it? Am I stretching the facts by saying this environment is house un-hackable? Should I keep searching for small multifamily?

[Chris Mason]

I spent $2500 to bring my home up to VA loan standards. It's risky, because I was fixing a home that I did not yet own.

Ask to see a copy of the termite report, which may normally be included in the seller's disclosures in your area (I'm not in NC). The cost to fix all the Section 1 items will give you a pretty good idea what it will take to bring it up to VA standards.