Being a homeowner and a soldier at the same time can become complicated. What happens to your home when you are deployed? Maybe you have family staying behind, or you have a trusting neighbor to watch over your most important investment. If you have neither, have you considered renting your valuable home to a renter? Renting your property provides you the ability to earn a passive income while serving your country.
Becoming an investor in real estate can be daunting, but no less so than anything you’ve faced before this point—especially for those fighting for our freedoms. If you are struggling with the decision to invest in a rental property while serving our country or are already struggling with your investment while your focus is on defending our nation, the following positives may help you see why investing in real estate while deployed makes good financial sense!
This is even easier to actualize when you work directly with Ashburn property management to manage your rental potential when you’re away from home.
Why Should You Invest in Real Estate?
Buying into real estate has long-term benefits for our nation’s heroes. Not only does it build a foundation for future wealth while you’re abroad, but it puts an asset to good use that would otherwise remain vacant—and a target. What’s more, you can do this while you are in any stage of the military, including active duty, deployed, discharged, or retired.
With a steady stream of income (even when deployed), you’ll be preparing for your future when you return home without leaving your property to gather dust. Starting with one investment property in Ashburn often leads to more: investing in real estate plays an integral role in our economy. When you decide to turn your now-empty home into a rental property, you give yourself a padded place to land.
However, how can you possibly maintain a rental property long-distance—especially if you might be overseas on assignment? The answer is working with experts in Ashburn property management.
How Can You Invest in Real Estate While Deployed?
In today’s digital age, you can do just about anything from anywhere. However, it is wise to still have boots on the ground in your subject rental market by working with a property management partner. A skilled property manager will handle every task you need to run a successful rental. They can help you determine which properties would be best for your portfolio if you decide to grow, find great people to rent your great spaces, and professionally manage every other detail of your great spaces to lead to lasting returns!
So far, we’ve discussed:
- Why you should turn an empty home into a rental property or start investing in real estate.
- Why property management is best suited to manage your investment, especially while you are deployed.
However, there are some additional aspects of rental property you should consider before diving in that it’s our duty to point out as Ashburn property management professionals.
Preparedness Leads to Lasting Returns
As military personnel, you know that proactivity and preparedness are crucial to success. Investing in real estate deserves the same preparedness.
- You should know what to do in the event your property has not leased for several weeks. How are you going to evict a renter if you need to while you are deployed in, let’s say, Okinawa?
- What happens when your heating system stops working during a snow storm in Ashburn while you are in Honolulu? You may not be able to answer your phone or email when your renter finds themselves facing an emergency.
The time difference between Okinawa and Virginia could mean hours of discomfort for your residents—or extreme property damage. It doesn’t matter if you are deployed in Germany or are stationed right here at home in Virginia: you’ll need to develop contingency plans to address these issues if you decide to manage your rental alone.
You don’t have to go to real estate school to acquire a real estate investor’s know-how. Books, blogs, and podcasts are all great resources for today’s successful investors.
- Research obtaining VA home loans for a new purchase: There is a multitude of benefits that come with an approved VA loan. No down payment, no monthly mortgage insurance, and a limitation on buyer’s closing costs are a few of the possible discounts provided by the VA Home Purchase Loan Program. If you intend to expand your portfolio or start from scratch, this is a great option.
- Consider VA refinancing home loans: Maybe you aren’t ready to purchase a new home, but you would like to update yours before you deploy to achieve the highest rental market value for your property. Renters look for different features in a home than most homeowners do! Alternatively, you may be ready to purchase an investment property, but maybe you weren’t eligible for some of the discounts listed above. You could take advantage of the VA’s cash-out refinance loan. The cash you may receive could be used as your down payment for your next rental property investment.
There’s one additional detail you should consider: Should you become an investor? At RentSimple, we’ve seen the transformative effect of owning great rental spaces that lead to lasting returns for our property owners and our community. However, if you’re not planning to work with a property management partner, it’s worth considering if you’re ready to become a rental property owner this year.
It’s understandable to be concerned over the housing market right now. Showing standards have changed, evictions have been paused, mortgages have been offered forbearance, and so on. A silver lining to this is that interest rates have dropped to a record low, creating a unique opportunity for you if you decide not to start with your empty home.
If you decide you’re interested in learning more, you can reach out to the Ashburn property management experts at RentSimple at any time for guidance. If you’re planning to start investing from scratch, we recommend you get in contact with us about running a free rental analysis on any property you have your eye on to ensure it would make a great space for great renters!
Lastly, the most important sentence in this blog: Thank you for your service!
