All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

My only rental property (so far) is in San Antonio. My husband and I bought it on the Northwest side in 2013. That whole area is exploding right now. New bars, new movie theatres, lots of shopping, military tenant friendly, easy access to 1604, the works.

Granted, it became our rental out of necessity, but we pull a little over $215 per month even with factoring in mortgage and property manager. That may not be the number you're looking for, though. 

I'm more just here to corroborate the idea that San Antonio is an awesome place to purchase a house, especially for rentals. It is a growing, constantly expanding city. When we moved in 2016, there were 1.5 M people, and city officials were talking about growing to ~3 M by 2020. They really want to make it a major metropolitan area...and all of those people are going to need somewhere to live! Not to mention the super high rate of military members stationed there who don't want to buy since they'll move in a few years!

Just watch out for property taxes! They are super high! This year we're projected to pay around $4K. For reference, our current house in Nevada, same size, same number of bedrooms/bathrooms, and in an equally middle class neighborhood, we're only paying $1300. 

I guess I should've clarified better because there was more than one person saying the same thing.

We came to Vegas this weekend to look at properties because we make the big move next month. We've got two Dobermans and a third mutt, so we were trying to limit the amount of time we needed to stay in a hotel room/board the dogs after we got here.

Found a house to put an offer on though, just waiting to hear back from seller. *fingers crossed*

Also, @Chris Mason, Nellis AFB is literally right in Las Vegas, NV. Sellers should absolutely be aware of potential VA loan clients.

To all of the people insinuating mortgage fraud: We have orders to Nellis AFB in Las Vegas, NV. We will be living in this property for at least 4 years. 

We are not flippers or wholesalers or anything like that. We buy a house at each of the bases we're at, live in them for a few years while we're there, and rent them out when we leave.

There is nothing illegal about that.

I don't even know how that was even brought up as a potential issue? But I do know that I don't like being called a criminal, so thanks for that.

Haha, obviously I'm in the far minority here, but I actually love a lot of those pictures. In a different situation I'd probably bite, but as a personal forever residence, certainly not as an investment. I'm self-aware enough to know that my tastes are a little...eclectic. My husband always says that when I die, kids are going to whisper that I was a witch. 

Thank you both for your replies! I was indeed wondering if perhaps the homes just have issues that the sellers know will not pass a VA inspection, and are unwilling to shell out funds for repairs. While it's unfortunate how the FHA or VA inspections work for the sellers, I guess it does protect the banks and buyers.

I just skimmed over the ones that did not offer VA financing. I figured that they wouldn't be considered on purpose.

But we have 40+ homes selected to view beginning Sunday, so this was more of a curiosity question than anything else.

I also didn't realize that different loans took different amounts of times to process! I guess it's because I only have experience with the one type. Definitely a good piece of information to have/consider when we retire from Active Duty to do this full time!

Hello Everyone!

My husband and I are heading out this weekend to purchase our second SFH, this time in Las Vegas, NV.

Naturally, as two people who are still very new and green to buying/selling properties, we're working with a realtor. She has set us up with a link to the MLS in the area with properties that meet our specifications, so we can look while we're still out of state.

We're going to use my husband's VA loan because mine is still tied up with our original home, so we can take advantage of that sweet, sweet 0% down/No PMI benefits.

My question stems from the fact that a lot of listings have various types of financing listed under "financing considered". Some of them just simply say "Cash", while others will list "cash/FHA/Conventional/VA", or a mixture, or whatever.

My question is: What would be the reasons behind limiting a potential buyer's financing methods? Is one better than the other for the seller? Do they think their property will not pass a VA/FHA inspection? I can see why cash would be the most lucrative for a seller, but don't they end up with the money in their pockets regardless? For the ones that do not explicitly say that they will accept VA financing, should I just delete those listings, despite some of them being really nice? Or is this something that can be negotiated later?

Thanks for reading! I get a bit wordy sometimes!

I'm considering this as well with our next purchase. I'm looking at a few multi-families near The Strip in LV. 

I'm still not sure as I haven't even been to inspect the properties yet, but the military is moving us there in Nov (I'm going next month).

There are two Quads I'm eyeing near The Arts District. I figure I can live in one, long term rent out two, and furnish the 4th nicely for a Short Term rental since Vegas is such a tourist destination.

Probably the most baby real estate investor here as I haven't even rented out my first property yet (preparing to do so by November at the latest), but it just seems to make sense for my husband's and my lifestyle.

We're both Active Duty, so we move around quite a bit. We've also got a Doberman, so you can imagine how difficult it was to find suitable rentals, at least stateside. We didn't have too much of a problem in Japan, which was weird considering how small the properties are there.

We get to San Antonio, and spent the first year renting out a RIDICULOUS property for 2 people and 2 dogs, because it was 1 of 5 places that would allow our dog (and I'm one of those "I'll live on the street before I give up my dog" types). It was a glorious house, but it was also a 4 bed/2.5 bath 2500 square foot house. It was expensive and we didn't use half the rooms.

That's when I got the idea to buy. At first, my husband wasn't on board, it's unsettling to get into a 30 year commitment when you don't know how long you'll be in one location. But eventually I convinced him, and we purchased an outdated but still structurally sound house, and we've been steadily making updates ever since.

Lo and behold, 4 years later, we get orders to Vegas, this fall. We're finishing up all of our unfinished projects, and as soon as we remodel the master bathroom, we'll be putting her on the rental market.

Thought about selling it, as we purchased this 3 bed/2 bath 1500 sqft home for 102K, and we were quoted by a realtor for 140K-145K. However, my goal now is to own 3-4 properties free and clear by the time we retire, and live off the rental income to subsidize our military retirement income.

Its too easy. Purchase a house every time you PCS, you're guaranteed a rental pool because you're also within an easy commute to a military installation, and you just live in it and fix it up until its time to move! 

Allow large breeds, and bam! You've got an even better competitive edge. I don't know why more military members are afraid to do this!