Navigating On-Base & Military Town Real Estate with Tim Little

Dec 18, 2023

How can military personnel leverage real estate investing to build wealth through owning rentals?

 

On this episode, host Angel Williams interviews Tim Little, a real estate investor and founder of Zana Investments, about strategies for military members to utilize real estate to build wealth. They discuss house hacking, owning rentals across duty stations, property management challenges, making the switch to commercial multifamily investing, and more.

 

Tim Little is the founder and CEO of ZANA Investments, a Tampa-based real estate investment firm named after his two daughters, Zara and Lana. He's passionate about helping fellow military veterans escape the "landlord trap" and get competitive returns by providing opportunities to invest passively in apartment buildings.

 

Tim started investing in real estate with a duplex in 2014 and has grown to a portfolio of 693 co-owned units valued at over $90 million. Practicing what he preaches, he also passively invests. He has an MBA and has served several years as an active duty Army Officer, a Strategic Communications Consultant, and the Head of Multifamily Communications for the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) before transitioning full-time to real estate.

 

Tim is also the host of the top-rated podcast, "Journey to Multifamily Millions" where he talks with experts in the field of investing in multifamily properties.

 

[00:00 - 00:03] Getting Started in Real Estate Investing

• Tim began as an "accidental landlord" by renting out his primary residence when he moved. His first intentional investment was a duplex purchased for $85k in Richmond, VA that netted $100/door in monthly profit.

 

[00:03 - 00:06] The Power of House Hacking

• Tim wishes he had the house hacked earlier by owner-occupying a small multifamily property and renting out the other unit(s). This is an excellent strategy for the military using VA loans.

 

[00:06 - 00:10] Military Markets & Bases

• When evaluating military towns, consider factors like base stability, potential base restructuring, and diversity of local employers beyond the base to avoid market risk.

 

[00:10 - 00:15] Challenges of Long-Distance Landlording

• Transitioning concentrated portfolios of small rentals across the country into commercial multifamily investments can benefit military landlords wanting to reduce management responsibilities.
• Unlike many bases on cheap land, MacDill AFB occupies sought-after waterfront property in downtown Tampa.

 

Quote:

A lot of people don't think about that, like how big of a role [government contractors] play. And so if you lose that tenant base too, you know, then again, it's that knock-on effect of, it's one thing if the military move out, but if they move, then the government contractors are going to move." - Tim Little

 

Connect with Tim:

Website: https://www.zanainvestments.com/

 

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Connect with Lorren Capital, LLC. for syndicated multifamily investments, https://lorrencapital.com/.

 

To learn more about me, visit my LinkedIn profile, and connect with me.