All Forum Posts by: Jeff Bagamaspad

Hi all,

I apologize if I didn't post in the right forum.

Parents are in a pickle.  In a Ch 13 which will be discharged upon close of escrow, leaving them with only $70K.  Dad's score is around 590.  Dad is 72 and mom is 71 with poor health.  Mom's dementia/Alzheimer is worsening each day, while Dad is fairly healthy.  Between both parents they are pulling in $3150 from social security with no other income.  They should be closing within 3 weeks.  Dad's been looking for rental here in Southern California area, but with a fixed income very little options exist.  They want an income 2.5x and higher credit score.    

My wife and I just closed on a VA IRRL a few weeks ago. I retired 6 years ago and wife retires in about 2 yrs from military and we are planning to move to Tampa. Because of that, I had recommended to my dad that maybe he considers Florida since cost of living is cheaper and your fixed income will go further. Plus we will be moving there in a few years and I pulled the grand-kids card on him.

I spoke with my wife about options to help them out.  

1)  Cosign for them on a rental.  Looking for 2-3bd/2 ba one story home with garage.  We thought about downsizing but they are coming from a 2400sq ft home and after purging 40 years worth of "stuff", they would still need to utilize a storage unit.  Rental costs are just too much here in Southern California.  We looked at rentals in Tampa and Vegas (Areas chose because we either have relatives are close friends living there)

2) Cosign on a mortgage.  Not sure with the CH 13 what our chances would be.  

3) Take out an investment property loan and rent to my parents.  I looked into this and it seems there are quite a few things I need to consider as far as taxes and my parents Medicare status goes.  

And then there is my reservation.  As far as a mortgage goes, my parents' fixed income is concerning.  However, my dad is willing to put up to $50k towards a down payment.  My wife and I have been paying down debt and really trying to control our finances since we are planning to make our first rental property purchase by next summer.  Didn't fully grasp the idea of investing until recently.....yeah, I'm a late bloomer. 

I'm hoping someone here can point me in the right direction.  This is my "why" for wanting to invest.  Never want to be in this situation.  Feel real bad for my parents.  I know that it was their fault for ending up in this situation, but as the eldest child, I feel an obligation to at least help out.  After all, they cosigned for a couple loans when I was just a junior sailor in the Navy.  

Suggestions?  

Thank you all for the great advice.  And this is why I love this site. Real estate investing has always been on my mind but never understood how someone like me could actually make it work. I believed in all the myths and let negative comments affect my view of real estate investing.   As a learn more about it, I keep saying to myself.."Why not me?  I know I can do this!"  

I showed my wife your responses and we're gonna talk about it.  She does know I want to make investing in real estate a priority, especially once we get to Bethesda. (FYI: I was stationed in that area for 8 plus years so I'm familiar with the area).  She would feel better if we went into it with as little debt as possible.  

Hello all,

I've been following these discussions for months. So much great information here. I'm slowly learning and building the confidence to get started in real estate investing. As a military family 3 children, 2,4, 10 y/o (my wife retires in 2 years, and I'm already retired) we purchased our first home in 2016 with a VA loan for $545K. We were planning to hold on to it for another 2 years until she retires however she just received orders to transfer to Bethesda, MD by April 14th. We met with a good family friend who is a very successful realtor and recommended selling now in this market. She didn't have anything against renting out our unit but she's just not familiar with the whole RE investment side. We have approx $50K in debt between my wife and I and she is concerned about all the negative things of renting: squatters, hvac goes out, plumbing issues, appliances, etc. House was built in 2004 here in Chula Vista, CA. Most appliances are a few years old, (new stove as of Dec) We also owe aprox $18K on our solar system. PITI is approx $3200, HOA: $106.

From the research I've done, we could easily rent this for about $3300-3500.  She said based on comps of our 4bd/3bath 1881 sq/ft home, we're looking at $610K-$635K.  She speculated it could go towards the high end since there weren't many other homes on the market. Something in my gut says to hold and rent.  But my wife isn't comfortable with gut feelings.  What would you do in our shoes?

Jeff