Just recently got out of the military and looking to invest in come rental properties out here in FL. Currently living in the Tampa Bay; and looking for connections and advice on getting started. I have an open mind to many subjects to throw all of them out at me. Thanks for any advice and tips given to me!
Real estate is a simple business, but execution is difficult. It requires a consistent approach to building relationships with deal providers and underwriting potential opportunities.
My top 5 tips for getting started:
Connect with deal sources - brokers, owners, and influential third-parties - and build fruitful relationships
Create a system to efficiently evaluate every deal you come across
Find a mentors on BP or in your area that can give you advice along the way
Build routines and habits help you stay consistent with your prospecting
Get a good deal under contract - the money will come, even if you need to flip the contract
Since there are several questions you will need to answer, but the most important one is what return are you looking for? Because what works for me, may not work for you because of different risk tolerances. You can avoid a lot of headache by just searching for something that meets your return requirements. You don't have to discriminate against what type of property, and what kind of tenant or where the property is. Because the baseline should just be, does this property make me money.
I'm local, and if you have any questions, I have tons of answers.
Since you have access to a VA loan with $0 down and no PMI, you could house hack a 4-plex and get into REI relatively easy so long as you can find the deal.
Depending on your situation, you have some options.
First, as stated above, you could house hack up to a quadplex with your VA loan. In regards to using this strategy in the Tampa Bay area, there is some limitations when it comes to inventory but it can still be done.
Flips are very popular here as well. This is obviously more of a "job" as opposed to rentals because there is more time commitment. However, I have seen it become an avenue for many investors to get into the industry and learn the different areas and opportunities.
You could also do the traditional rental property. Depending on what your desired return is, there are a variety of areas that can cash flow ranging from AIR BnBs in downtown Tampa to small multi family in Lakeland.
Please feel free to PM me if you have any questions sir.
First and foremost, Thanks for your service! There are a lot of great ideas on here! I agree that you will need to access what kind of returns that you want. One idea is to purchase a property with a hard money loan. You will pay interest only for the amount of time you are rehabbing the property, you can loans that will cover the purchase price and the reno costs. Then you Refi with your VA loan. You will then be able to use it as a rental property and pull out the cash from the Refi to do it again. Its the BRRRR method. It works.