All Forum Posts by: Cole Beauchemin

Thanks all for taking the time! I am looking for something as close to turn key as possible Patrick. While I love to get my hands dirty fixing things, I also acknowledge my skills are limited and as a new Ensign I need to be working on my quals.

Also, I will absolutely sign up for PIG, I keep hearing about it! I would love to meet more people from the area.

Good to know about the market saturation Matt. Definitely something to keep in mind to make sure I have a good strategy that will work in the long term. I really view the househack as a short term pivot to qualify for the VA loan's owner occupancy, then I plan to shift the property to a traditional rental when I PCS to my next station. @Matt Jones

Hey everyone! 

I am moving to Pensacola, FL in May for the Coast Guard and I would like to househack a single or multi-family using the VA loan. Does anyone know any Real Estate meetups down there that meet consistently? Any tips for investing in the area? Looking to make some connections to people in the area.

Thank you in advance! 

@Monica Jorge That seems like the perfect setup! I like your point about more units having more opportunity. That makes sense.

@Michael Doherty The VA loan does allow me to buy up to four units so I will certainly try to get the most out of it by buying a quadplex as you say.

Thank you all for your advice!

@Michael Doherty Thank you for the warm welcome! I see what you mean about the city being street dependent, there are certainly areas I avoid for good reason. 

You said if you were to do it again you would do a 3-4 unit instead of a 2 unit. Could you explain your reasoning? Is that due to the higher cash flow and less risk associated with having more units? I ask because it seems like 3-4 family units are harder to come by than the duplexes in CT and tend to be in the less desirable neighborhoods. 

I think @Jon Reed is right on the money there. As a fellow college student I see where you are coming from @Dylan Wells and It looks like house hacking is one of the best ways to get started for us newbies. As soon as I graduate next year I am going buy a multifamily wherever I get stationed. 

Hello everyone! My name is Cole Beauchemin and I am currently a Cadet at the United States Coast Guard Academy. Though I am still in college, I am determined to house hack a 2-4 unit multifamily unit using the VA loan in whichever city I am stationed. I will be graduating in 2021 as a Mechanical Engineer. Until then, I am reading as much as a can and analyzing one property a day. Looking forward to learning as much as I can and meeting new people! Please reach out if you are from the area as I would love to meet you!

You cannot go wrong with a basic set of good quality tools. A nice screwdriver, hammer, WD-40, duck tape and pliers go a long way with solving most problems.