Home buying thread

I'm a little North of Daytona and everyone here says avoid it like the plague. I can vouch for St. Aug though

Heard its getting infested with Joggers, could probably confirm using that race map

Why not a little more North? Weather is less extreme, less hurricanes, and you're not between both Miami/Broward and Daytona which are both aids. Lots more Trump signs up here. St. Aug and Palm Coast are beautiful too.

I was in Daytona a few years ago (won a trip to FL and it included a few days there) and it is a SHITHOLE. If you love college kids wasted everywhere and screen printing t shirt places outnumbering gas stations then it's the place for you.

Do VA loans usually go bad? I used one and nothing seemed bad about it.

man, i'm torn. i want to buy a slightly bigger house in a slightly better neighborhood and keep my current as a rental. it just seems a bit out of financial reach. for those who have done some basic house hacking, where should I be for my 1st step in this?

my current home is ~ 60% paid off. my mortgage rate is 3%

I don't have enough saved to put a down payment on a 2nd home. i can 1, take a 401k loan, 2, heloc, 3, cash out refi, 4, wait

I don't have the income to justify a 2nd mortgage. i can 1, move out and rent some place for a few months so i can fix up my place and get a renter in. once i have rental history, i can get approved for a 2nd mortgage. 2, i can get it move in ready while still living her, have 1st months rent collected before i move out. my real estate agent thinks this is possible, seems to me like a lot to juggle.

even if i do get things aligned and this home becomes a rental, it will be about 2% cash(equity in the home) on cash return. at this rate, i would do better to just dump it in an index fund and not have the risk of a renter trashing my home right?

i'm maxing every tax difference account i have access to, 6 months ahead on mortgage payments and i typically pay $200 extra per month.

Sounds like too much effort for the risk since it'll be your only rental. Like you said, if it does get trashed you have no other properties to fall back on until its repaired and has a new tenant. I say just go with an index fund with your extra money for now.