New REI Sponge from Utah, Arizona

[Mike Snyder]

Hello fellow BPers!

First off, I consider myself privileged to have found this site. I've been lurking and learning for just a little while and I've been blown away by the sheer amount of nuts and bolts type posts I've been able to find. So, major props to you all.  Thank you for your time to share on here. I hope in time I'll be able to return the favor to other sponges in the future.

Currently I'm a third-year dental student and father of two (three after next month!). My wife and I are both from Utah but have no intentions of returning there, nor staying in Arizona.  As it stands now, we're looking to settle in Colorado, Idaho, or possibly Oregon. I've got a military scholarship contract to fulfill with the Army until 2020, but after that the world will be our oyster.

I would say I have little experience in real estate, aside from a townhome my wife and I bought in 2008 that turned us into accidental landlords. Since then things have been on hold while we're going through school, but with the future prospect of earning a sizable income I've been doing what I can (i.e. exclusively research) to learn how to put that money to good use. I've got a good classmate friend with whom I share similar investment ideals, and he sent me a BP article that got me turned on to the whole site. 

As far as my RE goals are concerned, in a nutshell, I'm primarily looking to achieve financial independence, early retirement. However, I don't see myself necessarily stopping there. All this is speculative at this point, but I envision creating a business that continues to scale up as long as there are viable deals around. At the same time though, I want to maintain some degree of passivity so I can have a full personal life with my wife and kids as well, so that may turn out to be the limiting factor. I've been focusing on MFR/SFR, looking forward to apartment complexes, but this outlook may change. There is still a LOT I don't know!

Sorry for the novel; I do enjoy writing if you couldn't tell.  I'm glad to be a part of BP and I look forward to interacting with you all!

[Jonna Weber]

Welcome Mike! Let's connect if you wind up in Idaho at some point.  You'll find great colleagues from BP no matter where you settle.