All Forum Posts by: JD Monroe

I had a great time as well. @Amanda Bray you are right. Keeping our meeting going during the summer is the right way to go about it. I hope we can quickly move the group out of the meet'n'greet phase and into the action phase! There is a lot of room for improvement in the Great Falls rental market, and I want to do my part!

Thanks for the great time Guys!

JD

Don't stop investing because you are joining the military. The first 6 months+- will be a bit difficult depending on your job, but I would recommend  continuing  with you current investment strategy and adjusting it as you go. You'll get a feel for the amount  of time/effort  you can invest in real estate.

if your long term strategy  is flipping then keep flipping. 

If your long term strategy  is buy and hold, then start doing that.

there is a level of  risk with all investing. Try to mitigate  it as much  as  possible, but don't  let it stop you from moving forward.

If you have any questions  about the Air Force PM me and I'll  give you honest answers! GOOD LUCK!  

@Mark Mosch 

I have a ton of questions for you!

First, what type of property do you hold, SFH, multifamily 4 or less, multifamily 5 or more commercial?

How are you finding your homes?

Who does your property management? Would you recommend them.

@Mark Caiazza 

Welcome to the site! Our situation is very similar. I am in the currently in the Air Force and stationed In Louisiana. I bought my first owner occupied home in July rehabbed it and am now doing a VA cash out re-finance.

My wife PCS’d to Great Falls in 1 Dec 14 and is set to close on a house up there on the 30th of this month with her VA loan.

I spent three weeks up there looking at houses; we found a great realtor (also an investor) and became very familiar with the area.

The market is very different from the Shreveport/ Bossier, Louisiana area that I am used to. I was only up there 3 weeks, but I had a hard time finding any REIA or other groups. The exception was the Montana Landlord association website.

As soon as I join my wife in Montana I will need the long distance landlord experience/knowledge you have.

If you would like the name of the realtor, please let me know.

JD

@Joshua Dorkin 

While I appreciate you finding a way for me to get the book at a discount, I decided to purchase it at full price from BP. The site has given me so much knowledge, I still feel like I got it at a discount.

@brandon

For me it would depend on the return on investment.
What are you going to do with the 100k? If it is just sitting in the standard saving account and you are renting you are losing the return you could have been making.

If you buy a house and you know you're going to sell it in 4yrs there is opportunity to rehab/update(think Long term flip) and increase value.

There are very few situations where renting makes sense financially. They would include very, very cheep rent and being able to get a higher return on the money your saving(from the low rent) than what your house payment would have been if you had bought the house.

If you are able to buy a house at the right price, then IMO you should.

Either way, Good Luck!

@Michael Faulk...

Why are you looking to buy It?

I plan on keeping it as a rental, and see if I can get some one to manage it.

@Jeff Lee
I ran in to a similar problem, the box stores (Home Depot & Lowes) didn't have anything that would work for me.

I found Surplus Warehouse: 2706 Mackey Lane. Shreveport, LA 71118.

I picked up an un-finished vanity and granite top. They had the best prices and carry standard sizes.

BP, I am in search of an investor friendly Real Estate agent in Great Falls, MT.

I am looking for a primary residence to live in while I am stationed there. I will then turn it in to a “Profitable” rental when we move. I hope to pick up at least 1 additional rental while we are there.

My wife will arrive in Great Falls a few months before I do, so I would like to have a house picked out prior to her move (Dec/Jan).

I am also, looking for a REI group to attend, as well as, some contacts from the local area. If you have any information on the area: cap rates, rents, school districts, crime rates, etc… please share.

Thanks for your time.
JD