Military service member, reporting in.

[William V.]

Hey BiggerPockets,

This is my first post here! I've been lurking around the place for a few weeks and finally decided to jump in and contribute to the discussion.

My name is William, and I'm a 22-year old helicopter pilot with the U.S. Army. I'm currently stationed in Alabama and just bought my first to-be investment property; it's a townhouse and got it for 20% under market value from a very motivated seller. The USDA offers 100% financing on homes in the area, so I figured I'd save my VA benefits and go with USDA... 0% down is the holy grail in real estate investing, no? I just moved into the townhouse, am planning on making improvements to it over the next year, and then finally renting it out when I inevitably leave. It's a hot rental market, but it's a competitive one.

My real estate investment strategy is to pick up at least one investment property at each assignment with the primary intent of renting to other military families. I realize the associated challenges with it (e.g. property management eating up cashflow, not being in the area, etc.), but I'm trying to do this the best I can given what my job demands of me.

My next move: if I end up in a good rental market for my next duty station, I'm planning on using my VA benefit to buy a duplex, triplex, or quadruplex. I'm also very interested in assuming VA loans for investment since it seems like a great way to accumulate properties with little to no money out of pocket. I have been trying to research how to go about sourcing these deals, how to approach sellers, etc., but haven't found any good information out there about it. If anyone has a website, blog, book, or anything that could shed light on the subject area, I'd really appreciate it!

I'm glad I found this site -- the collective knowledge here at BP is incredible.

-W