Starting My Investing with a Time Crunch

[Jacob Brooks]

Hello! 

I am currently a full time Emergency Department RN after leaving the military with 15 years service. I've been learning about multiple areas of investing for years and always intended to get into rental/real estate but wanted to build up a diversified investment portfolio and feel like my 401k and alternative investments have reached an acceptable point with having an increased income of being an RN for the last 5 years. 

I purchased plot of land 2 years ago and just sold it for decent gains using a 1031 so am now diving all in looking for information and a community of people to help me find my next property, with the goal of using my VA loan on a quadplex to take advantage of that loans multiple benefits and house hack it for a year before continuing for further investments and goals I've set for myself.

I am looking forward to getting to know the community and developing my skills in this new area of investment to see where it takes me. 

[Benjamin Aaker]

Hi Jacob,
Welcome to BP. It's always great to see another healthcare provider looking at real estate investing. The 1031 was a genius idea to get investors to do something. The government encourages investing and 1031 helps motivate us to make a move. The 45 day time limit to identify 3 properties pushes us forward. The down-side is that it can encourage us to make a bad purchase. Remember that you can identify 3 properties but have 180 days to purchase any one of them. There's no downside to identifying 3 properties on day 45, even if you don't end up purchasing them.
The tax benefit is nice, but not nearly worth making a bad purchase, so do your diligence and be comfortable with losing the 1031. I've had this happen before and I've completed a 1031 before. It is pretty nice when it works out. Good luck.