All Forum Posts by: Jason Wray

Jacob,

Any time you want to talk REI feel free to reach out I can offer some help in regard to the initial process and what to look out for in terms of property type, occupancy type, cash flow, ARV, financing, etc. It's easier to have a conversation with people who have been in the REI and finance world to help get a grasp on what to do first and what to avoid.

This business offers a lucrative pathway to retirement and passive income.  Just want to adopt a preventive maintenance thought process to help analyze deals in advance.  Like I said feel free to reach out via email or message me I am always happy to help other BP members avoid pitfalls and teach the hard to find loopholes and tips.

Jared,

It's always smart to expand your network and build a strong team. Be great to have a quick chat sometime and in the meantime feel free to add me to your Network. I am an investor as well as a long time Banker. If you ever have any questions I am always happy to help and talk REI and share all of the loopholes and tips I have learned over the years.

There are also a ton of new programs that came out for 2025 that are helping more investors build their REI portfolio with less money down and better rate/terms. Based on the current market looks like mortgage rates will slowly keep trending down and making it more attractive to continue to buy more properties and tap into the current properties to pull out cash and use for the next REI down payments.

Again feel free to rech out via email or message me and add me to your network!

Brad,

I have a lot of investor clients that buy in Both NC & SC and Myrtle beach is a hot spot for STR's short term rentals. Keep in mind you mention having a lower budget but there are several new programs out now for investors that require less money down even on 2-4 units. Banks & Lenders are becoming more competitive and over the last 2 years there have been some great new changes.

Stay away from the banks or lenders requiring a big down payment just to offer a good rate. Putting less down always wins as long as the property cash flows and you hit your target NOI. My advice would be to focus in a 2-4 unit multifamily or a TLC SFR so you can do a little "TLC" work and speed up the ARV.

If you ever have any questions feel free to reach out via email or message I enjoy helping other BP members avoid pitfalls and costly mistakes!

Roy,

Great question, equity is the key factor in building an REI Portfolio and increasing your passive income. Over the years due to success the real estate industry has coined the acronym BRRRR for a reason. It's to break down the simple step solution in buying and building your real estate portfolio.

One main "R" stands for refinance which is how you use that $62K in equity to pull out and put it down on additional properties. There is a method to learn to perfect the process and keep it in your favor in terms of costs versus cash flow. There are a ton of New programs out that cater to both home owners and investors to get quick and cost efficient access to their equity/money.

Getting back to the process and how to avoid the "Cons" of the pro's vs cons you simply run the numbers in advance. You also look at both worse case and ultimate outcome to create a preventive maintenance style. One example would be running the numbers on the refinance options like using a Portfolio program, DSCR, Conventional, or a Heloc.

After you choose the COR program calculate the cashflow/rents for your NOI. The cash out is going to afford another property so essentially you can refinance once again down the road to take out more cash for down payments or to pay off the previous loan. College towns are great and ensure a stronger rental history in most cases.

You want to build a strong team and network to ensure you are getting the help from seasoned professionals. This helps eliminate the pitfalls and problems that may arise during the process. Having a Seasoned real estate agent who has investment property experience. A seasoned Mortgage Banker or Loan officer that knows how to maximize income or equity to ensure cash flow and NOI.

If you ever need any help or have any questions feel free to reach out via email or message.

Heather,

When you have two VA loans your entitlement is pretty much maxed out and you need to refinance both of them into a Conventional or DSCR loan. That will allow you to use your full entitlement if you do not need the full entitlement you can refinance one loan with a VA IRRRL and the other into a Conv, or DSCR.

Taking out a Heloc on an investment property limits your LTV to 65% to 70% in most cases since banks/lenders do not go above 75% CLTV. I would suggest doing a cash out refinance if you need cash but you need to refinance those VA loans into either Conventional or DSCR in order to free up your entitlement.

Your rate is great on the one property but you could go DSCR and elect an I/O Interest only rate to increase/maximize cash flow. You can also use some equity to buy the rate down as well as I/O for Max cash flow. If you have $40K-$50K that's enough to buy another investment property so you have a good head start.

I would consider looking into a 2-4 unit multifamily for an rental so that you can increase your doors and passive income. 

Louie,

The REI market is for sure on fire and it will continue to get better with mortgage rates falling and property value increasing in most states. Looks like you are in California which is not the best spot to buy REI due to the taxes, over priced homes and political chaos. If you care to venture out of CA and look into other states it can be very rewarding and profitable.

States like Indiana, Ohio, Florida, TN, GA, TX, VA, NV, and a few others you can still get a 2-4 unit for under $200K with good rents and low taxes. Most of my investors who live in CA have been buying in IN, OH, FL and NV over the last 3-4 years. Florida is a hot market and its all year round with the short term rental market seeing some of the best returns to date.

If you ever have any questions feel free to reach out I enjoy helping other BP members save time and money!  Good to network and build your circle to help expand your options.

Richard,

What program are you going to use DSCR, or traditional Fannie/Conventional? Reason I ask is in a typical REI world if you plan to grow and buy more properties take out the extra cash so you can pay off the Heloc, Hard Money and enough to put down on 1-2 more properties and some extra cash to tuck away for renovations to avoid another loan to increase the ARV's.

Why stop now after the success you have had this far sounds like you know what you are doing. DSCR offers some good options for this on a COR you can select a 40 Year with the first 10 years fixed as an I/O interest only. That way the payment is minimal it increases the cash flow and you can take out more versus standard PITI option. You an also select a prepay if your not going to pull cash out for a while you can take a 1-2-3 YR prepay and get a rate reduction of .75% in most cases.

If you ever have any questions feel free to reach out or send me an email I enjoy helping other BP members.

Christopher,

Helocs have changed over the years because you could get a Heloc with a rate in the low 3-4% which made the payment affordable. Fast forward to today and Heloc rates are in the 9% or higher depending on Heloc amount, CLTV, Credit, Property type, and terms. A Heloc is a good tool for doing renovations and repairs.

When it comes to down payments on more investment properties a Heloc is not the best choice. A cash out refinance is the better choice for a few reasons including lower rates, longer term (30 year vs Heloc shorter term) equals a lower payment. You also cannot use a Heloc as a verifiable asset or PITI reserves that are required when buying more properties.

A Heloc is always going to be in 2nd lien position and you cannot borrow more money unless the heloc is paid off. A cash out refinance lets you pull cash out to put into your checking or savings as a verifiable asset or PITI reserves. Heloc is the same as a credit cards its a open end mortgage and it adds another trade line to your credit. Excessive trade lines on credit can drop or hurt your credit score and raise your DTI.

I would encourage you to look at a side by side to examine the savings and benefits of a Cash out refinance payment versus a Heloc payment.  

Jalen,

You are correct the best way to utilize your VA entitlement and using your DD-214 is to buy your primary home and then refinance into a conventional loan. One big loophile is to start with a Multifamily 2-4 unit so that when you exit in as little as 6 months you have 2-4 doors paying the mortgage and cash flow.

VA also allows you to build your home and will include the cost of the vacant land/lot into the financing. VA offers renovations loans as well to renovate or repair things like roof, convert garage to bedroom, adding sqft etc.

Biggest rule of thumb is refinance before you move out so that its still considered a primary owner occupant home to get the lowest rate. You can also use VA to buy the home and renovate it so that it speeds up the ARV to pull cash out if needed.

If you have any questions feel free to reach out I enjoy helping other BP members especially other Veterans.

David,

Welcome to the BP forum and nice to see more investors joining and interested in building their real estate portfolio.  If you ever have any questions feel free to reach out I enjoy helping or offering tips/loopholes to other BP members.