All Forum Posts by: Jared Viernes

It’s possible to buy a distressed property. It just has to meet the Minimum Property Requirements, in fact I just made a VA loan offer on a HUD home. It just has to appraise meeting MPRs. Basically ugly is ok; unsafe, unsanitary, unsound is not. Not sure as to your original question though. I’d like to know from a VA lending specialist.

@James Lloyd wow, well you are one NCO I’d love having around for sure. Good luck with flight training my buddy just finish school to be an Apache warrant.  Big difference from his logistics officer roots.

You are better off finding a great realtor to begin with rather than training them.  Just like I’m the military there are skill identifiers in the Real Estate industry. You can search Realtor.com for realtors by designation.  If a realtor has a lot of designations it’s an indicator they care about professional development and are better trained and performing than their peers.  The ones you probably want to see are:

- Real Estate Negotiation Expert (RENE)

- Military Relocation Professional (MRP)

- Accredited Buyers Representative (ABR)

Later on if you leverage up to commercial investing you want a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM).

You could also ask local investors for an investor friendly agent.  Sometimes a good one will find you via BP.

Good luck in your investment journey and through flight school. I’m sure you’ll do well at both!

Jordan Lewis tax reform. If it gets passed there is a lot of affect on real estate.

Jordan Lewis go Army! Welcome to the site. Be aware there may be changes coming up to the taxation of primary residence sales, make sure to talk to a CPA specializing in real estate when you sell your home.

Lol you are definitely an officer. You are going to make some S3/G3 shop run efficiently. Looks like you are on the right track though I didn’t take the time to read your entire post; the fact that you have already done so much reading is a leading indicator of how well you’ll do (much like checking the cleanliness of a butt-stock will indicate how well the inside of the weapon is cleaned). One thing I did notice. Read (or listen to on a morning run - my preferred method) the book “Never Split the Difference”. Unfortunately, you will often have to negotiate through a real estate agent and speaking as a real estate agent most of us suck at our jobs. There is a good chance you will be a better negotiator than your average real estate agent. Try reaching out to some members in the Fort Rucker area with a lot of votes. They could probably help you out and get you linked in with local investors. Using LinkedIn is another great way to connect with investors in the area especially ones with military background I’ve made some great contacts through LinkedIn. They may even be able to help you run the numbers. Are you going to Rucker to become a pilot? Good luck!

As a veteran myself, I think it’s a shame how poorly the real estate community regards the VA loan; at least here.

Dylan Bard sounds like the loan officer is trying to get you in prior to you actually leaving the military. The only way they can use potential rental income is if you can document some type of landlord or property management experience. The GI bill does not count toward your income as far as the VA Loan is concerned. If you don’t have any jobs lined up there is a good chance your financing will fall through. If the underwriter scrutinizes your case it will. There is a distaste in the Realtor community for VA loans. This is because the financing will often fall through due to poor up front qualification by the major national lenders. It sounds to me like your loan originator is one of the reasons why. My advice is have another funding source lined up. For your situational awareness, the FHA loan while less attractive will let you count 75% of appraised rental income toward the purchase.

@Jon Li that's an easy choice for me. I'd do the MFH, save up for another SFH with a rehab budget. Buy a fixer upper SFH and build our "dream house" at a fraction of the cost.

When you don’t have any reason to move away other than finding the right house you will be able to really find a great deal as well as negotiate better term. This is because you Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA) is just doing what you’ve been doing.  You’ll then be able to find a great house, in a great location. At a great price because you can wait to hit all three targets.

This is one you need to discuss with your wife. If you can explain to her the benefits of buying a MFH and purchase your dream home in a few more years then that’s the way to go. But sometimes that can be a bridge too far. You don’t want to make that decision and have it strain your marriage. Happy wife, happy life.

The problem with offering the 140k is it sounds like it won’t appraise for that value. I think using the VA loan is probably not a good route then. Have you thought about grabbing a cheap house at a higher price point?