Hey everyone,

I'm in the Army in Korea. Going to PCS to Fort Polk soon. I'm interested in using my VA loan to house hack in the region. I haven't gotten in contact with any local realtors yet but from what I can see, finding multifamily property seems limited online. I'm also interested in BRRRR but would consider living in a SFH that I can add value to. I'm open to many options. Anyone familiar with the Fort Polk area and willing to share any information?

Me: I have an Airbnb in Nashville, long term rental in Fayetteville, NC (VA loan so it would take some entitlement away but not much being an $86,500 loan), and a Duplex in Hendersonville, NC being house hacked by my girlfriend (co loan)

Thank you!

@Mark Huneycutt

Hey man, I’m in Fort Polk and have tried calling out to the Fort Polk/Deridder/Leesville area but have had little to no luck with replies here on BP (excluding two posts I’ve made) so excuse the long reply!

I have been rummaging through Realtor.com, Zillow, an agent, Craigslist, word of mouth, etc. and haven’t found any multi-families. I also haven’t found a very good agent yet, I’ve heard some pretty outlandish property/rental values from these guys here, hoping I haven’t done my research I’m guessing. There are deals to be had of course, lots of potential for fix and flips and BRRRRs but with little profit margins. This area is very behind so add value would have to be minimum because the comps near by aren’t very good. From what I’ve seen people have literally slapped paint on the walls and called it a day with the exception of a few properties.

Either properties are priced right or above 2-3k market value and are in alright shape and in B - C class neighborhoods or they are priced $200k+, very little in between. I’ve also noticed a lot of 3 beds 1 bath which wouldn’t be very pleasant while house hacking. I’m sure house hacking would work perfect in the expensive areas but my only concerns would be finding the right price and finding someone who would pay enough rent for a decent cashflow once you PCS/ETS out of this place.

I will tell you I am looking in areas where rental values are under current BAH and 30 minutes away from base so I’m sure that has something to do with what I’m finding. These are just my thoughts on the area so far, I’m certain when you look around you’ll formulate different ideas and might see something I’m not seeing! If you do I am open to suggestions and will do the same for you if you’d like! 

Good luck brother!

@Omar Diaz

I saw some of your posts. It does seem to be weak online. 

The only multifamily I could find was 4 duplexes which have been on Zillow since Jan 2019. Everything else is so far away. Probably just not a good market for it.

It's pretty amazing what money will buy there and land seems to often come with homes. I hear Deridder is nicer than Leesville but it's far. I'm willing to travel a little ways to use my VA loan on the right property for investing if it can be found. If it comes down to settling for a normal SFH though, I'd like to be close to base.

BAH is very low there which kind of makes sense for what I can see but it's funny because Bragg BAH was about $300 more and I could find cheaper options than Fort Polk.

I reached out to a realtor at Polk yesterday and now I'm waiting for a phone call. We shall see if I can find any properties but for now, Zillow barely ever has new properties. Are you in the Army at Polk? If so can you DM me? I have questions on best location to live to get onto base the quickest.

Thanks for the input

@Mark Huneycutt

Sending you a Message now

I started researching this market in May of 2019 and have made some headway on learning about prop managers and who has the deals. I sent both of you a colleague request.

@Mark Honeycutt the 4 duplexes on Kings road are listed with Robie Graham at ERA Sarver and she let me know that they seller is willing to sell them individually for 70k each. This area of Kings, the 1600 block, is a little shady but it's nice on either side of these duplexes. I honestly think these duplexes have dragged down this block as they rent for only $500 or $550. Landlord allows the tenants to park wherever and put up sheets for curtains. This block could be turned around if someone did something with these duplexes. Also there is some vacant land between the duplexes not sure if the landlord owns these lots as well.

Both of you should know that the BAH has declined as of 2020 and major improvements have started to be made in on post housing here so it might get tough for landlords going forward.

My recommendation for this area is to buy ugly in Deridder or Rosepine, do a value add and try to sell when you PCS. Deridder and Rosepine are marketing heavily to fort Polk right now, and have better schools at least that's what people say, and people saying it is enough to have people buying there.

@Samantha Smith Thank you that's good info on the duplexes there. I have definitely noticed BAH sucks there :P

Thank you for the info

@Mark Honeycutt @Samantha Smith @Omar Diaz

Really cool to follow this. Hoping you have had success on your rei journey since this thread. 

Was curious about doing buy and hold near Fort Polk ...and I think we will pass on it for now. :) Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience! 

Lots of on the ground opportunities here, people are moving out of the area after Hurricane Laura.

If you were ever interested in this market then now is the time to drive down here.

People are looking for cash only, "AS IS" deals to leave their homes.

Super low home prices but bring dehumidifiers and a generator so you can salvage the water damaged homes.

If any home in Calcasieu Parish Louisiana is water damaged from wind driven rains and it is not air conditioned within a month it will be a total gut to restore.