All Forum Posts by: Michael Randle

@Ray Slack,

Excellent information, thank you for point that out. Where did you find that information?

My understanding is as follows. When you sign the paperwork the VA expects you to be in the property for 12 months.

Now there is exception to this if your brother has to move for work. I was in my first VA home for about 9 months, moved for work and got a second VA loan in the new location while keeping the old VA loan. This also applies to selling the home. But anything under 2 years you run into tax issues with capital gains so you need to look out for that.

Now I am slightly confused by what you mean by 'claim it as a rental property'. If it is a 4-plex by its very nature at least 75% of the property is a rental property. And this will be reflected on his end of year tax returns. (or should be)

If you are talking about DTI ratio and the ability to apply for another loan. That really depends on the mortgage company you use. Usually it is 1 full year of rental income on your end of year tax returns.

I think you are referring to how long you have to wait before using the VA loan to get another property. In that case after 12 months you can change the VA over to a conventional loan, this leaves you clear to then take your full VA loan benefits and get another 4-plex (only if you Owner/Occupy). Again there are exceptions like moving for work or selling your original VA loan early. But generally it is 1 year at a time.

Remember the general rule is 1 VA loan at a time, so you will have to switch your original VA loan over to something else in the event you want to use your VA loan again for a new property. Again there are exceptions with the number of properties you can have, but not the amount of VA loans you can have out at one time.

For instance in Aurora CO I can have up to $529k in single family loan. So lets say I have a $350k loan in Aurora. And then I have to move to Mono CA that has the same $529k cap. I can only qualify for $179k in Mono CA for a second single family home VA loan. At least this is what happened to me personally when I went CO -> AZ -> CO with less then a 12 month downtime between the moves.

I would say hands down the VA loan is the best route to take if you have the ability too. Especially since you can do a 4-plex, live in one with only 3.5% down (or something crazy) and NOT have Mortgage Insurance. I have done both of my previous 'house hacks' with my VA and specifically saving it, now that I cashed out of those last two, for a 4-plex when I find an area I want to invest in.

The only real downside is VA loan requires a slightly higher level of inspection before closing. And that can be a problem with older houses that do not have 100% up to code with newer builds. I know I passed on a house that would have required a new breaker box for electrical due to this.

Mortgage Insurance would have killed any cash flow that I might have made, but with the VA I was able to make a little profit.

As for finding a 4-plex, well you are on your own there. I have not seen any 'good' public resources for finding a 2+ plex. I know Loopnet is known as the place commercial properties go to die, but you might be able to reach out to a broker that is listing a property on there and see if they have anything. That is a tip I heard on a podcast.

@Ray Slack; If you where not licensed and trained to do all the title search before the auction, who would you suggest goes to in order to get all the ducks in the row before bidding?

Now I am going to ask everyone this question. I was following the Foreclosure auctions this morning and 2 auctions just struck me as odd.

600 NE 36th Unit#620 Miami FL 33137

543 Meridian Ave Unit#6 Miami Beach FL 33139

They sold at auction for a combined price of $400. Why did they go for so cheap any why didn't anyone else bid on them. I must be missing something about these two.

Any help for a newbie in foreclosures is appreciated.

@Michael Hacker, Both if possible. I know not every city/state is up to day with this internet thing.

P.S. I do not know how this got onto TX specifically, not looking to invest there at this time. No offense to the lone star state (waves Dallas cowboy flag).

@Ned Carey, Thank you for the information. I am in the MD area right now, closing out my CO properties so looking to invest in something again. I have read you invest in Tax Lien/Deeds in Baltimore. How are you liking/disliking it?

It sounds like it is VERY area specific as to the local laws, I saw up to 3 years for right of redemption in AZ. So FL that allowed you to do year round buying. I guess the quote I am taking away, from the county clerk in AZ none-the-less "You are playing a game with the government, and the government makes all the rules."

Hello AZ investors,

I am continuing my investing education by brushing up on number crunching. I am hoping that Maricopa County has a government run/sponsored foreclosure auction website. I know certain areas (Miami FL) do have them, but other areas (Aurora/Denver CO) do not. I am trying to stay away from the third party websites (outside of bigger pockets of course).

Thank you for any information!

@Elvis Vasquez and @Wayne Brooks, Thank you both for the input. At this point I am just trying to get my head around the complicated concepts and like math, I learn the process by looking at real life examples. Am I right to assume the website to look at in order to view forclosures/tax deeds that would allow a person to own the property outright if successful in bidding is (https://www.miamidade.realforeclose.com)?

I am still confused as to who or what guarantees your % of return on Tax liens?

@Wayne Brooks, So I purchase $100 tax certificate (Also known as a Tax lien I am guessing?) at 8%. How do I go about getting my money back? I am assuming I am paid off if the property owner gets current on their taxes or if the city forecloses on the property? If I made the right assumptions, what would happen if the property if foreclosed on and no one buys it?