New To Real-estate - Virginia - Hampton Roads

Norfolk, VA · Member since 2017 · 20 posts · 6 votes

Hello BiggerPockets, I am John Jacobs, no relation to Jingleheimerschmidt. I am a government employee. I currently reside in Virginia. I hope to buy and rent homes for additional cash flow and an addition to my modest portfolio.

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Patti RobertsonBusiness Member

Property Manager · Virginia Beach, VA · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes

Welcome

@John J. There are couple of great Southside REIAs you should check out. Google the Tidewater Real Estate Investors Group and the Hampton Roads Landlord Assoc. TRIG has a small cost, but is well worth for the education they put on. HRLA is free, but most of the meetings are weekday. There are a few held in the evenings. There is one coming up in Sept that is being lead by a guy who I think is the smartest mortgage broker we have in the market. He is going to teach How to Buy The Most Properties With the Least Cash With Freddie/Fannie Loans.

Everyone always says they want to start in VB. I live there too, but have very few rentals there. It's a great place to flip, but the prices are so expensive to buy it makes it the worst cash flowing city in our market for rentals. Rents just aren't much higher in comparison to the other cities. When you are starting you will likely be using 30 year mortgages so you will have amortization on your side, so paying higher prices seems doable. If you can buy hte same rent amount for 70% of the purchase price though, wouldn't it be worth looking at another city? Just my two cents.

757-472-2547

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Mindy JensenPro Member
BiggerPockets Money Podcast Host · Longmont, CO · Member since 2014 · 7k+ posts · 10k+ votes
9y
Hi @John J. . (How often do you hear that joke?)
Welcome to BiggerPockets!
[email protected]Podcast Guest on Show #261
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Christopher Lightner
Real Estate Agent · Virginia Beach, VA · Member since 2014 · 47 posts · 22 votes
9y
Hi @John J.. Welcome to BiggerPockets! Being a government employee is a great place to be when starting your portfolio (I would know). Have you dealt with real estate before? Or is this your first foray into the field?
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Tiffany S.
Investor · Portsmouth, VA · Member since 2016 · 289 posts · 107 votes
9y
Welcome @John J.
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John J.
OP
Norfolk, VA · Member since 2017 · 20 posts · 6 votes
9y
@Mindy Jensen Hi, and as much as you can imagine, then imagine a little more. Thank you for the welcome.
@Christopher Lightner Hello to you, fellow government employee. This is my first foray into this forte. Ha!
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Christopher Lightner
Real Estate Agent · Virginia Beach, VA · Member since 2014 · 47 posts · 22 votes
9y
@John J. If you haven't already,
Set up keyword alerts to be notified of the topics that interest you: http://www.biggerpockets.com/alerts
Read Beginner’s Guide: http://www.biggerpockets.com/real-estate-investing
Check out BP Podcasts: http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/category/podcast/
Have you been out looking at any properties yet, or do you have an idea of any areas where you'd like to own a rental?
(edited, fixed formatting)
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John J.
OP
Norfolk, VA · Member since 2017 · 20 posts · 6 votes
9y
@Christopher Lightner I think the Virginia Beach area would be a great place to invest, but I haven't drawn up plausible plan to start just yet.
I'm currently in the middle of buying my first property that I plan on living in for at least a year before I think about rehab and rental (less rehab, as it is in great condition).
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Patti RobertsonBusiness Member
Property Manager · Virginia Beach, VA · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
9y
Welcome
@John J. There are couple of great Southside REIAs you should check out. Google the Tidewater Real Estate Investors Group and the Hampton Roads Landlord Assoc. TRIG has a small cost, but is well worth for the education they put on. HRLA is free, but most of the meetings are weekday. There are a few held in the evenings. There is one coming up in Sept that is being lead by a guy who I think is the smartest mortgage broker we have in the market. He is going to teach How to Buy The Most Properties With the Least Cash With Freddie/Fannie Loans.
Everyone always says they want to start in VB. I live there too, but have very few rentals there. It's a great place to flip, but the prices are so expensive to buy it makes it the worst cash flowing city in our market for rentals. Rents just aren't much higher in comparison to the other cities. When you are starting you will likely be using 30 year mortgages so you will have amortization on your side, so paying higher prices seems doable. If you can buy hte same rent amount for 70% of the purchase price though, wouldn't it be worth looking at another city? Just my two cents.
757-472-2547
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Matt Connolly
Rental Property Investor · Norfolk, VA · Member since 2017 · 20 posts · 7 votes
9y
Welcome @John Jacobs. I'm also a government employee looking to get into rentals but focusing on trying to rehab right now between govt assignments. Tons of info on the forums and podcasts to help get started.
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Amy H.
Rental Property Investor · Richmond, VA · Member since 2017 · 295 posts · 229 votes
9y
@John J. welcome! I was born and raised in Virginia Beach and went to college in Norfolk, so I know those markets pretty well. 2+ bedroom houses near ODU or NSU in Norfolk are great if you don't mind student tenants. I once lived in a duplex that had 8 units total and it was bringing in $3600 a month back in 2011. The owner paid $300k for the duplex in 2008 I believe. Let me know if you have any questions about different areas in Norfolk or VB!
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John J.
OP
Norfolk, VA · Member since 2017 · 20 posts · 6 votes
8y
Originally posted by @Patti Robertson:

Welcome
@John J. There are couple of great Southside REIAs you should check out. Google the Tidewater Real Estate Investors Group and the Hampton Roads Landlord Assoc. TRIG has a small cost, but is well worth for the education they put on. HRLA is free, but most of the meetings are weekday. There are a few held in the evenings. There is one coming up in Sept that is being lead by a guy who I think is the smartest mortgage broker we have in the market. He is going to teach How to Buy The Most Properties With the Least Cash With Freddie/Fannie Loans.
Everyone always says they want to start in VB. I live there too, but have very few rentals there. It's a great place to flip, but the prices are so expensive to buy it makes it the worst cash flowing city in our market for rentals. Rents just aren't much higher in comparison to the other cities. When you are starting you will likely be using 30 year mortgages so you will have amortization on your side, so paying higher prices seems doable. If you can buy hte same rent amount for 70% of the purchase price though, wouldn't it be worth looking at another city? Just my two cents.
This is probably the most valuable information I have received to help me focus on how I'd want to invest in VB. It was hard for me to really see this because a friend of mine kept over-estimating rental numbers, that I just wasn't seeing in the area I was thinking of investing. And if the rental numbers my friend was supposing were real, I couldn't imagine someone paying and not buying for cheaper. So, thank you!!!
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