All Forum Posts by: Horacio Gonzalez

So currently my wife and I have 3 properties one of which is a beautiful 100 year old duplex. We live on one side of the duplex and rent the other and we love it here. We are ready to take on our next property and I would like to use my VA loan to purchase a fourplex since that's the largest property it qualifies for. However to use the VA loan we have to live in the property for one year. So the issue is my wife is totally against moving into a fourplex and we are expecting a baby so not the ideal time to do so. I have given her the sacrifice now and see rewards later speech. Have any of you purchased with a VA loan and used any kind of exemption to live in the property or just any tips in general for my situation. Thank You

@Jonathan R. thank you so much for answering all my questions it really means a lot. I have a lot more motivation now I was very motivated but I didn’t really have an idea of what path to focus on and I had thought about cheap houses but I was kind of scared away but I feel more confident that I can make it happen so thank you! 

@Jonathan R. ok that’s a pretty good idea going with credit union of America. I love them I’ve been banking there for a few years now so that should help. It would be great to find a good contractor but I am able to do some stuff and I have a coworker who is a contractor who would be able to do the more major stuff. He is pretty busy with jobs which is why I was asking otherwise I’d just have him help me out. But yea right now I’m just learning as much as I can and my wife and I are saving as much as we can so we can get that first property. 

@Jason Snider For this type of construction of adding extra bedrooms in homes are their certain types of permits that have to be given or does your contractor just take care of that? Especially in lower end areas I could see why the extra bedrooms would be a good business move. 

@Jonathan R. For a first deal would you recommend doing a HELOC maybe or even a conventional loan on one of these and just put all the cash flow back into it and do another deal? I see what you mean and we will not learn as much until we finally jump in and do our first deal. Other than asking on BP or trial and error any advice for finding a a good contractor here in town?

@Jonathan R. That is one thing I have learned from podcasts is getting your contractor some kind of incentive other than just paying them. In the 3 deals you have done what are majority of the repairs or updates you have been doing ? Where are you finding your properties and is there any specifics you look for ?

How about the rehabbing are you also doing all of that yourself ? Yes I like the buying out right method. I think that if my wife and I would do a deal like this it would be a cash purpose or maybe a HELOC on our current home. Then probably save up and repeat the process. Thanks for the recommendations, I have read 2 of those books and I have some other ones I am going to read as well as finish listening to the BP podcast episodes, I have listened to maybe 100 episodes so far as well as reading on the forums and some of the articles. Partnering on a deal would be awesome or maybe just getting guidance on the process also. How would a partnership work on a buy and hold property like that? Just split the monthly cash flow?

@Jonathan R. I hope she enjoyed it. A lot of the 3-4 year olds I coached were pretty scared and kind of upset after most games since there was a lot of pressure from their parents. 

That actually sounds better than doing regular tenants and marketing. The one year inspection is actually kind of good because then you are able to look at every property and keep up with them even more. I actually really like how you are going about it thought because it sounds like you are buying this properties out right so then you have no debt just sitting there and they are cash flowing very well. And from looking at multiple sources there are quite a bit of those type of homes. Are you managing these properties yourself ?

@Jonathan R. is there a lot of different steps to go through to get section 8 tenants? 

@Jonathan R. I appreciate that perspective very much. I love Wichita I have lived here almost all my life. I actually grew up in some of those areas that some people would now shy away from because they are not thriving. But a lot of those neighborhoods are just working class people doing they best they can. I love that idea of buying out the whole block to help out the area. I have been looking at properties near downtown especially outside of college hill since that will likely spread out. I would love to send you some properties I have been looking at and get your feedback on whether it would be a good move or not.. I only played up until high school and I just coached my first team this year which was a lot of fun.... it was a U4 team..