US Marine ready to make a move....Help?

Question

Hello all,

A little about me. I'm a 34 Y.O. Marine. I’m stationed in Washington DC. I'm a Sergeant in case you were wondering. I have always been interested in real estate and have geared my military career to be friendly toward REI. I actually started my military career in the Navy. I joined in 2000 and was stationed on an aircraft carrier. It was an awesome experience. The Navy asked my what I wanted to do in the service and I said I want to be a Construction Electrician. There was a reason for this, I wanted to be able to be a Seabee (Navy Construction) because I wanted the knowledge of planning and estimating a job. I did that for 7 years and loved it. I choose that because I wanted to be able to flip a house, I was 20 years old. Later, I got out of the Navy and went to work for a plumber. That sucked so i left, he wasn't the type of person I wanted to emulate. So, I then went to work for a start up Mortgage broker for awhile. I learned a lot, but I left with a new appreciation of sales, which I then applied to residential window sales. It was good and bad. Life on 100% commission is a roller coaster ride I wasn't used to and I decided to rejoin the service as a US Marine. Again, it's been an awesome experience and I love it. I like it because, well I'm a Marine and that's bad “A“, but it is also stable. I have unfortunately had financial trouble in the form of a an unjustified lien which after many years I successfully proved was unjust (or else I would’ve been in REI sooner). Yay! I’ve been in the Corps for 7 years as of today. So... Here's where I am, I just bought a house for a few reasons. #1 I gotta live somewhere. #2 I am ordered to different duty stations just like any other active service member. I will continue to buy a home at each duty station and make my last station home a rental and develop a RE portfolio. Those properties will be handled by a PMC in that area when I vacate them. Here's what I want to do Flip! I would like to use the resources I have and make something... I'm not sure how I'll do that, but it will happen eventually. I would love help. If you are in the mid Atlantic region and read this, any level of experience, I would love to hear from you. I need direction and more knowledge. I'm open to partnerships and helping. I make movies for the Marine Corps now, so if you are a REI in need of marketing help... PM me. Thanks for reading!

Brandon Turner · Answer

Hey @Jarrod Rayner thanks for introducing yourself! It's great to have you here! Don't miss The BiggerPockets Podcast - they are great for learning how others are finding success.

Oh - and be sure to set up some Keyword Alerts- especially for "Quantico" so you'll be notified when people mention it here in the forums.

Thanks again for introducing yourself!

Brad Chandler · Answer

@Jarrod Rayner I'd be happy to sit down with you for an hour and talk. I am a few minutes away from you in Springfield and have bought nearly 1,600 homes since 2003. Message me if you are interested and thank you for your service!

Troy Bevans · Answer

Semper Fi brother!  If there is anything I can do to assist, I will do my best to make it happen!

Jarrod Rayner · Answer

Thank you all for the warm welcome. I'm looking forward to making new relationships, learning, and growing. I would love to find a local flipper and help them out in any way.

Sara Cunningham · Answer

Welcome to BP. Sounds like you have a sound plan with buying at each duty station then leaving it as a rental each time you PCS.  We are retired Air Force now stationed as civilians in DC.

You could look to cultivate relationships on here with someone that flips and offer to help them in return for the experience. Or if you are wholesaling then find an investor who wants to buy and get involved in the follow up rehab project. Try attending a. Local REI meet up too to meet contacts.

God luck.

Sar

James Wise · Answer

@Jarrod Rayner

welcome to the site.

Aaron Montague · Answer

@Jarrod Rayner

Welcome to BP!!

This is a great place to research exactly what you are thinking about doing in REI.  There is a woman on here that has done exactly what you are planning on, her name escapes me at the moment, but spend some time here on BP and you'll run across her posts.

The most important thing you must remember is to be cognoscente of what kind of investments you are making when you buys your various buildings.  Just because it is a nice, affordable place to live doesn't mean it will be a good investment when you move.

Set your investment criteria and stick to that.  You have a distinct advantage of being able to weigh your market for several years.  When you move you'll have a great idea whether you should keep your place as an investment or sell it.  Remember that just because you want a Buy and Hold doesn't mean the market won't encourage you to sell it for the right reasons.

Good luck with everything.  Happy House Hunting!!