Updated about 6 years ago on . Most recent reply
Looking for Advice on Getting Started
I'm currently in the Navy and wanting to get started with real estate investing. I've been listening to the Bigger Pockets podcast and reading the various books published by Bigger Pockets. I have $40k plus saved up currently. I'll be out of the Navy in 2.5 years when I will have approximately $150k saved up. I would like to implement the BRRRR strategy. I currently live in the Charleston area.
My question to everyone here is...Would you look to get started now or would you wait the 2.5 years?
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- Rental Property Investor
- Baltimore County Maryland and Tampa Florida
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I like Todd's idea of house hacking to start. You could take advantage of the VA loan which I believe lets you put nothing down. You'd just have closing costs. You could buy a duplex, triplex, or quad because a quad (4-unit) is the max amount of units most loans will allow for a personal/primary residence. But some can vary and you'd need to confirm this with whoever your lender would be. Otherwise, you could just get a single-family home (or townhouse) and rent out the basement or an extra bedroom or 2.
After one year of living there, you could move, turn it into a full-time rental and do it all over again. This is how you make the most of the low downpayment loans that are VA loans or normal primary residence loans.
I would recommend this as a first step into REI over jumping right into a BRRR for your first deal. You get to learn first-hand while acquiring properties and keeping the most amount of cash in your pocket with less risk.