Fresh as a baby bottom to REI

[Stephen Seaberry]

Hi everyone,

I'm a recently retired Marine out of the DC -VA -MD area. I have been investing in the stock market for as long as I can remember and my second read of Rich Dad, Poor Dad made me deeply revisit what I want in this life. Much reflection and thought later, my mind led me to REI. As my subject line suggest, however, I don't know the first thing about it. I work in federal contracting and have been listening to every BP Podcast for the last week. I reached out to some people in my office that have their license and, on their's and J. Scott's guidance, I am doing the same (you see farther standing on the shoulders of giants).

Tonight my wife and a trusted co-worker are headed to a KW career night to network and sign up for their seller's course in June. Further, I'm reading The Millionaire Real Estate Investor and Trump's The Art of the Deal (seems to be required reading in the REI circle). Also, I joined a couple REIA meet ups on meetup.com and will start attending those this month as well. Essentially, my plan is to learn, network, tighten up my credit, raise capital, and pull the trigger within the next year (my original plan was within 9 months, but that would mean purchasing in December...I'm afraid it will be more difficult to flip a house in this area during the winter and I want to minimize holding cost as much as practical...thoughts on that are appreciated).

That said, I'm a clean slate ready to absorb all the knowledge and wisdom from others in the BP community. I'd love feedback on my initial course of action/plan and connecting with others in my area willing to work with newbies that can add value to their operations. Hold no punches, Marines can handle constructive criticism :)