Do You or Does Someone You Love Serve in the US Military??

[Joshua Dorkin]

Over the years we've seen a huge number of active military personnel here on BiggerPockets and one of the biggest questions has always been how to invest in the US while serving.

We just completed what we believe to be a pretty comprehensive guide to help these folks out:

Please check it out and if you know someone who is serving, do pass this along to them. We want to do what we can to help educate this important group of individuals who are doing their part to protect and serve the rest of us.

Thank you from the entire BP Family!

[David Hutson]

Brandon,

Great info. I'm still on active duty in California and I’m a buy and hold investor. I currently own and manage eight properties from condo's to a fourplex. I recently bought a turnkey home in Memphis as my wife is from there and spends several months a year in that area.

I will say it is a lot of work so anyone, not just military members, need to be prepared the amount of time learn the business. If you manage your own properties you need to be ready for the calls in the middle of the night or on the weekend for the flooded bathroom or any other issue.

I purchased my fourplex in 2000 as a means to increase my income at the time with a goal of $1500 a month in retirement income once I paid it off. I have slowly added to my profile since.

For the most part I really enjoy working with tenants and the properties. There are times when I have to go away for duty or deployment so the wife steps up and schedules the repairs if something comes up. The longer deployments can be an issue. I hired a property manager for most of my properties during my first deployment to make it easier on my wife. She has been able to manage the properties during my follow on tours/trips. Two things that have helped when I’m gone have been Skype and this great website out there I use called biggerpockets.com. We can ask questions there or to my colleagues.

To sum it up you can invest while in the military. Your job may determine how much time you can dedicate to investing but it is possible. I highly recommend that my fellow service members start educating themselves first then look for homes in the areas around their bases as there are always other service members on looking for homes and each base has a housing office.

Skip the get rich in a weekend seminars and download the Ultimate Beginner’s Guide on BP and listen to the podcasts. Look for other quality educational materials also. There is always something new to learn.

BP, again, great articles and I appreciate all that everyone on here does. There is always someone will to help out and answer questions. Hopefully this isn't too long and I didn't bore anyone.