Active Duty Flipper with Big Dreams

[Rochelle Thea Fabrizio]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence other investment in Pensacola.

Purchase price: $109,900
Cash invested: $30,000

I purchased this home to flip it and live in it while on Active Duty stationed in Pensacola, FL. I flipped the home without contractors while living in the property for two years. I utilized a VA 0% down loan with a 4.5% rate. I manage the property myself and rent it for $1,850 with my monthly mortgage, taxes, and insurance costing $915. This home has never sat vacant, and even though rent is much higher than most comps, I am able to rent easily because of large workshop and 0.5 acre lot.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

The home was in terrible shape moving into it. There was terrible wood paneling and each room looked as if it had jumped out from the 70's with blue bathtubs and yellow toilets. It had sat on the market for a while but I saw a significant potential in the space and extras that were already present.

How did you finance this deal?

VA Loan with 0% down

How did you add value to the deal?

Updating every room. I added drywall and turned an upstairs room (previously used as a sewing room) into a master suite by adding a walk-in closet.

What was the outcome?

I have had a very positive experience with this home. I have a Cash on Cash ROI of 26.92% and am very successful renting this home very quickly and well above market rent.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

I didn't screen my first renters well before accepting them. They ended up being terrible and I lost many months of rent because of it. They also sub-leased without approval and those individuals never ended up paying me either. Before leaving they unfortunately stole my refrigerator, concrete patio set, fire extinguishers, extra materials for home, and any closet component they could get their hands on. I fortunately have learned from that mistake and have done very well since.

[William Allen]

@Joshua Hyde, if you are a flight student right now the focus should be on getting your wings!  A house to house hack or something would be my recommendation but you don't want get too distracted at the start of your career.  This is coming from a previous active duty instructor there.  

Biggest challenge for me was time.  The deployments don't make it easy to get anything done and your mind needs to be in the fight, not in the tenants and toilet mode.  The shore tour is a great time to ramp things up but I ended up working two full time jobs at that time.  

Save as much as you can, live on less than you earn, and educate yourself right now.  Figure out the path you want to go down investing in real estate and then start taking action.  I'm seeing a lot more young O-1's at flight school getting involved in real estate and it's inspiring.  As long as they focus on the program, work hard, and put the time needed into flight school too.