New REI in St. Paul, Minnesota.

[Keith Albrecht]

Good Evening Bigger Pockets Members,

I've been a member for about a month now and have been soaking up all the information that I possibly can from this amazing site. Everyone here has done an amazing job networking and sharing the rewards and horror stories of REI. I'm excited to meet local investors in the Twin Cities area that can help guide me on this long and treacherous journey.

A Little background on myself-

One year ago yesterday, I was honorably discharged from the Marine Corps after 8 years and 7 months of duty. My first 4 years I spent in the infantry with 2nd Battalion 5th Marines. The last 4 years I moved into the Marine Corps Bomb Squad as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician stationed in Hawaii. There is not doubt that I learned a lot of very valuable lessons while serving but I needed to break away from that stability.

Upon my discharge I immediately started working at Village Lawn Service, which is owned by my family, and enrolled in college full time. Over the winter I hurt my knee by  standing up, that's when I realized I NEED to explore different avenues of wealth building. So, last month I started K&K Estates with my wife, a licensed real estate agent with Keller Williams. Our focus is on multifamily homes for cash flow and from my research we have found a couple properties that meet the criteria.

Yesterday I signed a purchase agreement for Village Lawn Service giving me part ownership of the company. According to a lender, because I did this it is going to set me back another 2 years before I will be able to count my income towards getting a loan. This has only added fuel to my already unrelenting determination. My road in life has not been easy, like most I have scars to prove it, and I welcome adversity with open arms. After all, if we all had everything handed to us we wouldn't really be able to appreciate our accomplishments.

My goal over the next 20 years is to build K&K Estates into one of the largest REI Groups in the Midwest. My goal with Bigger Pockets is to network with like minded people and to learn and retain as much information as I possibly can. Thank you for your time and if you are local to the Twin Cities Metropolitan area I would love to meet.

-Keith Albrecht