Newbie from Everett/Bremerton Washington

[Curt Mcneil]

Hi all, my name is Curtis. (and I can tend to ramble... so fair warning!)

Well, I am coming up in a few years for 'retirement' from the Navy and realize now more than ever that I need to take personal control of my financial destiny.

It looks like I will do another 2-5 years (will be 25-29 years total- which is hard to believe for me), currently stationed in Everett and renting a room over in Port Orchard where I had lived for the last three or so years. Ultimately when I do 'retire' I see myself in Tucson Arizona where the lion's share of the family lives.

I have been reading pretty much anything and everything I can get my hands on (lots of time on your hands when on deployment, no?). I have been through many of the Rich Dad series as well as a large number of real estate books.

In all of my reading and self study, I have come to embrace the concept that I need to lay out some sort of goals. So here goes. (feedback most certainly welcome!!):

I see a 2, 5, 7 and 10 year plan starting to form. I will retire and will get a % in retirement income- my base plans center on this concept...

I know I will need to earn at least an equivalent income to maintain my lifestyle so my current pay minus the retirement pay becomes the target 'free and clear' number I am targeting to earn from rentals.

2years: purchase rentals such as to meet the requirements above in the Everett area so that I can do it locally and learn the ins/outs of property management...

5years: develop (aggressively) rentals in Tucson Arizona to an arbitrary level of 10K/month (this would be in addition to my living income from retirement checks and Everett rentals.

7years: (side goal- personal dreams and all...) finance a golf tour across the country

10years: Certified/Sophisticated investor status and begin investment journey in other asset classes (if not there already...)

These are just loose concepts in my mind, with the exception of course that when I finally do 'retire' from the Navy, I really do have a goal of having replaced my current levels of income so that I don't have to work for others unless it is something that I really want to do.

I see my primary focus as being in the buy/hold/rent arena, but I am not discounting other methods including wholesale and fix/flip projects for capital injections periodically.

Finally, I see a lot of value in the Rich Dad encouragement for folks to get into business. I am also on a journey of researching some sort of business purchase in Tucson. This last part is a longer term goal I think, but we shall see.

As a side note, one really neat thing that I came across and would like to share is my short journey on credit score improvement. I was tinkering around with my credit card awards points and managed to get a 6 month free life lock membership. Upon reviewing my score I found it to be a bit low and discovered that a collections account had been added to it. Without going into great detail about the collections account (it truly was not mine, but was my daughters) I got the account settled but it remained on my record. That improved my score slightly...

I read a book where a guy mentioned that any negative/derogatory entry on the credit reports could and should be challenged periodically. I followed that advice and, to my surprise, easily got the entry removed.

This little project improved my score by 70 points. A very nice feeling to look at my score now!!!

Anyways, I will be popping in and out of the forum as I still have what I consider to be a lot of ground work in the Everett area to learn the local market(s).

Be Good!

Curtis

[Stephanie Dupuis]

Hi Curt - I'd enjoy meeting up, would be fun. I know this area very well. I'll PM you and we can figure out how to do that when you get back.

I know both Kitsap and Everett area. In my opinion, it's easier to get CCR, CF, etc. in Port Orchard. Further, your purchase price is lower over here (allowing you to buy more for the money, or more properties, allowing you to accrue properties faster). There's plenty of renters in Kitsap and Port Orchard. If you want some good info on Everett, contact @Zach Schwarzmiller . He's an agent in that area and an investor.

Steph