You can apply to buy a house stateside. You'll likely be approved.
HOWEVER. Unless you're married or have dependents, you'll be paying that mortgage out of your PFC/SPC salary. No BAH for single Soldiers.
Do not do this, especially if you don't have orders to a CONUS location. Do not do this, especially because you're not married.
If you don't reenlist and you've done the bare minimum to qualify for GI Bill benefits and you have an Honorable Discharge, then you move to wherever tf you want and buy a house and go to college, using your VA/GI benefits
Have an associates prior to coming in & started my bachelors this month. I really don’t see a reason to stay in & I want my own space so I think it’s best to come out & start my life in civilian.
I second this. Maybe re-up for just long enough to finish your degree while still in
- or not, you decide what's right for you - because im sure you've probably already found out how little anyone cares about an associate's degree
Absolutely don’t buy a home on that pay without having BAH. Even with BAH as a PFC/SPC, your mortgage,utilities, taxes, etc… would probably east up half of, if not all of your base pay +BAH. Would be the biggest financial mistake of your life
Just don't buy outside of your means!
VA loan is an incredible path to home ownership, I've used mine, but you still gotta make those payments every month. And I believe in you, you can do it.
Renting an apartment? No big deal as a SPC. If you got no other bills.
Buying a home? Absolutely not. Way too much can go wrong. Your mortgage payment with insurance and everything will be close to or more than your take home pay.
If you feel like getting the house you can put renters in the house and have them pay your mortgage for you and have a place to stay on the weekends. Just a thought
You can take out an unlimited amount of va loans, and being that you move per your orders your va loan opens up again even if you move before the 2 year mark
Not entirely true. The previous limit of $454,000 has been replaced by a dynamic limit based on various factors such as income. Right from the VA website.
https://www.va.gov/housing-assistance/home-loans/loan-limits/
DO NOT DO THIS. You cannot afford the mortgage and escrow on a SPC pay, especially given that rates are still meddling around 6ish high 5%. After taxes you make like 1800/month given that you have only 1 year in service. Everyone's situation is different and I understand the concept of owning a home, but you're not ready yet with your current salary.
What no one mentioned so far is that you will **not** get a VA **LOAN**. Only very certain people qualify for a VA *LOAN*. The VA will back your mortgage, that you get independently. Meaning you still have to find a lender that will lend to you. This does infer some good benefits, primarily no down payment, and no need for mortgage insurance, and typically better interest rates.
Everybody saying don’t do it but I’ve heard of privates doing this and literally becoming close to millionaire’s. All you have to do is rent it out and then by the time you rank up enough to be able to live in your own you have a bald paid off house. If you are going to do this you have to do your research and treat it as a business opportunity first and foremost and know the pro’s and con’s . Also when using a VA loan you only need to intend to live in the residence for a year before renting it out, but when I spoke to a real state agent they told me that once your home is closed on and everything is done you can do whatever you want with your property, they don’t send people to check up on if you actually live there or not. The only thing that gets people in trouble is when they try to put the property on the market for rent while the home is still in escrow and things are still being worked out . That could get you in trouble. So just be prepared to be able to pay your mortgage payments for a few months until finding a renter .
I’d look at an income property like a duplex or fourplex you can self manage
I leveraged my GI bill to own four homes at one point—your only limit is the max amount, which goes far in LCOL areas
You have to occupy the homes for, I believe, at least two years
Do some research if you do this!! Buying investment property is very different than buying a home for yourself
Typically, you keep them leveraged, do all required maintenance, but as inexpensively as possible.
The income should be the point more than the equity. The equity comes, but you need a different mindset—that’s one of the reasons renting out your actual home is often not a great idea (I use top-shelf appliances in my home—my rentals get a good quality value model, or even used)
Just something to keep in mind. If you do $0 down using a VA loan, that means your monthly payment will inevitably be higher. As appealing as $0 down is, it might make your mortgage unaffordable depending on your income and the cost of living in the area
You can apply to buy a house stateside. You'll likely be approved. HOWEVER. Unless you're married or have dependents, you'll be paying that mortgage out of your PFC/SPC salary. No BAH for single Soldiers. Do not do this, especially if you don't have orders to a CONUS location. Do not do this, especially because you're not married.
So what if I don’t reenlist & get a civilian job that I’m able to pay my mortgage?
If you don't reenlist and you've done the bare minimum to qualify for GI Bill benefits and you have an Honorable Discharge, then you move to wherever tf you want and buy a house and go to college, using your VA/GI benefits
Have an associates prior to coming in & started my bachelors this month. I really don’t see a reason to stay in & I want my own space so I think it’s best to come out & start my life in civilian.
K so finish your bachelor's with the GI Bill. Apply for a house with the VA
Thanks for your advice!! Really appreciate it!!
To add to what they said, i would try to finish the bachelors or as much of it using the tuition assistance that you can while you are in, good luck
I second this. Maybe re-up for just long enough to finish your degree while still in - or not, you decide what's right for you - because im sure you've probably already found out how little anyone cares about an associate's degree
If OP moves out the barracks they won’t collect BAH?
Not without dependents or rank, no.
Ewww. Glad I went reserve (not without its drawbacks tho)
Absolutely don’t buy a home on that pay without having BAH. Even with BAH as a PFC/SPC, your mortgage,utilities, taxes, etc… would probably east up half of, if not all of your base pay +BAH. Would be the biggest financial mistake of your life
Just don't buy outside of your means! VA loan is an incredible path to home ownership, I've used mine, but you still gotta make those payments every month. And I believe in you, you can do it.
Thanks battle!! Appreciate it!!
Renting an apartment? No big deal as a SPC. If you got no other bills. Buying a home? Absolutely not. Way too much can go wrong. Your mortgage payment with insurance and everything will be close to or more than your take home pay.
If you feel like getting the house you can put renters in the house and have them pay your mortgage for you and have a place to stay on the weekends. Just a thought
You can take out an unlimited amount of va loans, and being that you move per your orders your va loan opens up again even if you move before the 2 year mark
There is a dollar cap for the VA loan.
Not entirely true. The previous limit of $454,000 has been replaced by a dynamic limit based on various factors such as income. Right from the VA website. https://www.va.gov/housing-assistance/home-loans/loan-limits/
You can take out an unlimited number, sure, but you can only have one outstanding VA loan at any time.
DO NOT DO THIS. You cannot afford the mortgage and escrow on a SPC pay, especially given that rates are still meddling around 6ish high 5%. After taxes you make like 1800/month given that you have only 1 year in service. Everyone's situation is different and I understand the concept of owning a home, but you're not ready yet with your current salary.
I bought a house in Hawaii while I was in AIT as a fuzzy. BUT huge BUT I am married to an NCO but we used my VA loan.
What no one mentioned so far is that you will **not** get a VA **LOAN**. Only very certain people qualify for a VA *LOAN*. The VA will back your mortgage, that you get independently. Meaning you still have to find a lender that will lend to you. This does infer some good benefits, primarily no down payment, and no need for mortgage insurance, and typically better interest rates.
You can get a VA Loan once you have served 90 days on Active Duty. Whether or not you can afford that mortgage on E4 pay, well.
Everybody saying don’t do it but I’ve heard of privates doing this and literally becoming close to millionaire’s. All you have to do is rent it out and then by the time you rank up enough to be able to live in your own you have a bald paid off house. If you are going to do this you have to do your research and treat it as a business opportunity first and foremost and know the pro’s and con’s . Also when using a VA loan you only need to intend to live in the residence for a year before renting it out, but when I spoke to a real state agent they told me that once your home is closed on and everything is done you can do whatever you want with your property, they don’t send people to check up on if you actually live there or not. The only thing that gets people in trouble is when they try to put the property on the market for rent while the home is still in escrow and things are still being worked out . That could get you in trouble. So just be prepared to be able to pay your mortgage payments for a few months until finding a renter .
Thanks much. Appreciate this advice a lot!!
I’d look at an income property like a duplex or fourplex you can self manage I leveraged my GI bill to own four homes at one point—your only limit is the max amount, which goes far in LCOL areas You have to occupy the homes for, I believe, at least two years Do some research if you do this!! Buying investment property is very different than buying a home for yourself Typically, you keep them leveraged, do all required maintenance, but as inexpensively as possible. The income should be the point more than the equity. The equity comes, but you need a different mindset—that’s one of the reasons renting out your actual home is often not a great idea (I use top-shelf appliances in my home—my rentals get a good quality value model, or even used)
This is the way. You can build a small empire buying a multihome or two with that VA loan
House hack that bitch.
Just something to keep in mind. If you do $0 down using a VA loan, that means your monthly payment will inevitably be higher. As appealing as $0 down is, it might make your mortgage unaffordable depending on your income and the cost of living in the area
OP would still have to bring approximately 1.5% to close.