Buying two properties within a few months

[Eyan Hudson]

Hello everyone! I have been reading and learning about real estate for the past couple months now and am wanting to make some steps towards acquiring my first rental soon. I am serving active duty in the Navy and will be moving to Pensacola in January. I was thinking about buying a lower cost SFH in January, maybe doing some cosmetic rehab (floors, paint, fixtures, etc), and renting it out. However, my wife will move down and join me in May and we were planning to buy a home using the VA loan. When we leave the Pensacola area, we will turn our home into a LTR. My main questions are:

1. Is buying an investment property a few months before our first home purchase too much risk for a new real estate investor?

2. Are we better off to be patient and just start with our personal residence and start real estate investing after we've secured our home?

3. How much money should we have saved if we go for a traditional 20% down loan for the investment property and 0% down on the VA loan?

4. For those who are currently investing in or are knowledgeable about the Pensacola area, are there any particular areas where I should be looking to buy an investment property or areas I should avoid? And what types of properties usually do well in the area, condo, multifamily, etc?

5. Will I have a hard time finding my first ever tenet in the February/March months? 

Any advice is appreciated, thank you!

[Ned Carey]

You will learn a ton in your first transaction. but it will take a lot of work. If you are just getting your first home I think I would wait before jumping into another deal. Taking on too much at one time can be painful and cause you to lose money. 

Taking on more than my partner and I can handle has cost us hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years