Rental Property Investor · Mt Pleasant, SC · Member since 2017 · 7 posts · 2 votes
I currently have a VA loan at around 2.5% for my primary residence. For round numbers, I owe $350k, and it is worth about $1.1 mil according to Zillow. We've lived in the home since 2017, and it's located in Charleston County (SC).
Since my family has grown, we need a little more space. The new home would probably cost $1.2-1.4 mil.
My strategy, if allowed, would be to keep my current home and make it a rental. Then use my remaining VA entitlement as part of the down payment on the new home and use a HELOC (equity from my current residence) to fund the purchase of the new home. I would also use investments as necessary.
Has anyone done this? I see conflicting information and would like to know if anyone has experience with this or has a different strategy to make this happen.
ChatGPT is telling me this is possible, but it's full of it sometimes. Thanks in advance!
P.S. A military section in Bigger Pockets forums would be great. I didn't know a great spot for this topic.
Lender · Denver, CO · Member since 2017 · 159 posts · 72 votes
2w
Finding out how much entitlement you have left will allow you to understand how much down you'll be required to make. So aligning with a seasoned VA lender will be useful. Don't sleep on factoring blended cost of borrowing to understand the make sense of it all. What you are asking is not complicated. I agree the V.A. section could be useful. Depends on how it were structured given they are owner occupied loans. Lender and Veteran. GL!