Newbie Amateur Landlord in Washington DC

[Jarrod Deines]

Hello BP,

My name is Jarrod and I am currently in the military, living in Guam, but will be retiring in about two years. I count my location as DC, since that is where my property is, though I most likely won’t move back to that area. I hope to use Real Estate Investing to supplement my military retirement. I’ve been lurking on the site for a couple of months, and already have learned a lot, but I know that I’ve just scratched the surface on Real Estate Investing and am eager to learn more.

I own a rental property in Washington D.C. that used to be my residence. I have made a lot of mistakes over the past five years of being a landlord, and will probably make many more, but I have enjoyed the highs and lows of owning a rental property. Just the short amount of time that I have been on BP has opened my eyes on what I have been doing wrong and what I need to change in order to be a better landlord and maximize my cash flow. I was extremely fortunate in stumbling into the purchase of a DC rowhouse in a neighborhood that has exploded in popularity and have benefited from the increased property values that come with that popularity, as well as having mostly fantastic tenants.

My family and I will be moving to Colorado next, so that will be my next investment location. I will most likely try to replicate what I know so far, which is to buy an older home as a residence, renovate it, and eventually rent it out, realizing that not many markets are like DC, which has been very good to me the last few years. Once I can build up more equity in my home(s), then I will look at purchasing more buy and hold properties. One step at a time.

I apologize for not posting a picture on my profile yet. As soon as I’m near a working camera, a picture will be provided.

Thank you for taking the time to read my intro and I look forward to some great interactions on this site.