All Forum Posts by: Alana Reynolds

If you claim you will live at the property for good loan terms but never intend on actually living there it's occupancy fraud and you could potentially get into legal trouble. 

The low money down loan options are for primary residences so you would have to have the intention of living there. 

My first rental property was a quadplex that I purchased with the VA loan. The building was fully rented so I signed a document saying I had to move in within 60 days. It actually took 4 months to move in. But life took a different direction, and I left after only a couple month and rented the place back out. It is all about intention, don't go into it without planning on living there.

Good afternoon Andrew,

I'm actively involved in real estate investments here in Jacksonville and would love to connect with you. I have some questions regarding your long-term goals in this field. 

Firstly, if you're planning on buying your forever home, I would pay cash but if it's going to be anything else, keep the 200. Something to note, if you pay cash for the house and later require access to those funds, utilizing a HELOC (Home Equity Line of Credit) allows you to retrieve that money.

Secondly, the right approach for investing depends on several factors. You'll need to determine the monthly cash flow you aim to achieve from rental properties, along with your desired timeline for getting started and the initial investment you're comfortable making.

While flipping properties can yield quick returns, it's worth noting that the current market conditions may pose challenges in this area. Alternatively, you might consider the strategy of acquiring distressed off-market deals, renovating them, renting them out, refinancing to pull out cash, and repeating this process.

Another aspect to consider is whether you prefer to handle the work yourself or delegate it to professionals. Of course, the quickest route, albeit requiring a substantial upfront investment, is to purchase a rental property and start earning rental income.

There is a lot to break down, I'd like to help further if you want to reach out.

Hi. Each side is currently leased, a 2 bed 1 bath and the studio side. 

I am very glad I attended this meet up. I look forward to the next one. 

Hey I wanted to follow up with your comments. We ended up buying a home with the VA and getting a roommate to house hack. The camper I am renting on airbnb. The home we live in now we plan on renting on airbnb after living here for 1 year and moving again to another house possibly. We are still putting 5k in savings every month and feel pretty comfortable. It feels like a slow rate of growth but it is working for now.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $290,000
Cash invested: $20,000

We purchased a single-family home with the VA loan then converted the garage to a studio apartment. The main portion of the house currently has tenants and rents for $1650. The studio we will rent for $1100-$900. We have a mortgage payment and pay for the electric bill. This averages to be about $2,000.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Finding creative ways to earn side income.

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

We found the home on zillow and offered 10k below asking price.

How did you finance this deal?

The VA loan.

How did you add value to the deal?

We converted the garage into a studio.

What was the outcome?

It will net $750 a month.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

My husband built a stand up shower and completed a lot of tiling. He loved learning new hands on skills.

Hello everyone. My husband and I met in the Coast Guard, married and just had our first baby. We are 25 and 24 yrs old. I used my VA loan to buy a 4 plex in 2020 and still own it today, it cash flows about 2k. My husband bought a home and renovated it while he lived there. He purchased it for 180k and sold it 2 yrs later for 330k. I got kicked out last year for not getting the covid shot. We moved to Florida on his orders and bought a home here. Spent most of the flip money on the house. I got back in active duty, they offered my job back a year after being out.

In our current home, we made the garage into a studio apartment and are renting both the 2 bed 1 bath side and soon the studio too. We made the mistake of buying a brand new Toyota and a 41 ft camper (financed). Should have bought used. The plan was to live in the camper while renovating homes so we are living in the camper on the same property we are renting out our "dueplex". The rents will cover the home mortgage and the car payment. 

Wondering if we should sell the Toyota and camper to get rid of debt and buy another VA loan house to hack or just save up money and stay in the camper.

If we bought another house the mortgage would be low 7% interest and on a 350k-385k home our mortgage would be about 3 thousand (Anything cheaper is a less desirable location or unlivable). We have a roommate lined up who would pay $1,100 towards it. In the long game, we will rent each bedroom if we have to in order to cover the mortgage when we move again. 

Looking for creative options too like an assumable mortgage. We live in the Jacksonville FL area if anyone has something they want to sell. 

Or we can stay in the camper and put 5k in savings every month. Only have 30k in savings currently, this would not be enough for a hard money flip or regular rehab. I want to keep it for reserves.  

The goal is to get financially free and sustained by rental properties asap. I want to be a stay at home mom and plan to get back out in 3.5 years So I need to make the best of the double income currently. 10k a month in cashflow from would be great, currently at about 3k. My goal was purchase 1 property a year and its about that time but I am worried about being over leveraged and uncertain about the market. It seems like a great time to sit on the sidelines and save up cash for when/if prices drop. What are your thoughts on this, I'd love to chat. 

Quote from @Marco Bario:

@Alana Reynolds -

I'd recommend this when dealing with any seller, but especially because it's your Grandmother - understand what she needs. 

Where is she living now, and what are her living expenses? Is she struggling to meet expenses? If so, how how much is needed to up the difference?

If you're comfortable sharing more details here, I'd be happy to suggest a structure. Otherwise, feel free to reach out privately. 

My grandmother currently is living in an apartment that chargesa percentage of her social security she receives. She would need cash monthly to make her more comfortable. The house would be worth to $300,000 arv with a bathroom added and she has asked for $140,000

Quote from @Reid Chauvin:

@Alana Reynolds - first you should decide whether you want to ultimately sell the home or hold it. If you ultimately want to sell it, I'm not sure that flipping it is going to be your best bet as opposed to just selling it as-is. There's a large learning curve and margin for error there, and the additional profit from a flip may not be worth your time/effort (or in the best interest of grandma if she needs money now). 

If you are interested in holding it, there are renovation loan products that would allow you to finance the renovation costs into the loan. If you buy it from grandma at $150k and put $75k then you could get a loan for $217,125 and only be $15 - 20k out of pocket after closing costs and prepaids with an FHA loan (this applies if you plan to live in the home after reno, you would be out of pocket more if it's strictly an investment property).

 Hi thank you for your response to my post! I am interested in buying and holding this property to refinance after the rehab. My grandmother want $140,000, the arv is more around $250,000.