All Forum Posts by: Anthony Trumbull

@Matt Jones @Dylan H.Thanks for  all the advice. Doing even a little research I can see that finding a decent multi-family in this area is harder than others. As of now it looks like the smart thing to do would be buying a single family residence (3 bedroom 2 bath or similar), and renting out two of the rooms while I myself lived in one. Although not multi-family, I guess this is a different form of house hacking given the students that are in the area? Running the numbers, I could be negative cash flow while I lived there (by about $300 or so, still allows me to save most of my BAH), but positive with all three rooms rented even with 11% spent on property management (with a conservative $600 per room) which I may not even invest in once I PCS. Fully furnishing is a great idea! Even splitting the utilities between three people rather than including it in the rent would put the cash flow a little higher.

I guess my question now is how exactly does renting out specific rooms work? From my experience in school it was usually under the table (subleasing), which was typically non-binding. Is there a way to rent out specific rooms and make it more binding? Do I have the two occupants sign a lease for the two rooms, and then if they move have them sublease the remainder of their months, and is this even possible if I also live in the residence?

Thanks again for answering my questions, this has been a life saver.

Awesome, thanks for the tips. I figured it'd be pretty hot given the long waitlist for flight school right now. Not sure if you're military yourself, but if you or anyone skimming through is familiar with the steps of using the VA loan, and whether or not this is preferable over a traditional first time homebuyer loan, (or having a down payment in general), any pointers would be great.

Tony

I’m looking to buy a duplex down in Pensacola near NAS Pensacola. Is anyone familiar with the area or know the average rent they are experiencing in the area? If anyone is familiar with the housing market there, I’d greatly appreciate any help.

I was also wondering if Pcola had any special perks to it (or towns near military bases in general) and how investing in rentals changes given that military members are afforded the VA loan, a zero down payment loan afforded to us. Is anyone familiar with house hacking with a zero down payment loan?

Hundreds of new military officers (including myself) are sent down there every month for flight school. With a waiting time of 7 months, and flight school being around 1-2 years, I’d imagine finding solid renters would be pretty easy? With a property manager, can you ask them to specifically look to fill the rentals with other military personnel or should you leave it up to them to decide? I’m very new to all of this, so again any help or pointers in the right direction would be very much appreciated!