Newbie Active Duty USAF Long Distance Investor

[James Bradin]

Hello first of all I would like to say how impressed I am with BiggerPockets and what it has to offer.  My real estate journey to this point is similar to most.  I read Rich Dad Poor Dad my junior year of high school, instantly knowing that someday I would want to follow Robert Kiyosaki's formula with building wealth.  I attended college where I majored in Civil Engineering and have been serving Active Duty in the U.S. Air Force for just over 3 years.  I have been saving and investing in the stock market in order to build (what I thought was) the necessary capital to begin my Real Estate journey.  After nearly 3 years of military training I wanted to begin serious investing.  I read Rich Dad Poor Dad again a couple months ago, which motivated me once more and re-aligned my investment goals.  This allowed me to discover Bigger Pockets.  I have listened to around 30 podcasts, read multiple blogs, read both 7 Years to 7 Figure Wealth and Real Estate Rewind, and taken the A Beginner's Introduction to Real Estate Investing (which was well worth the time).  I am also about half way through William Nickerson's How I turned $5k into $5 mil.  

I am still trying to build my Investment Plan in order to "Road Map" where I want to go.  I am from the Bradenton-Sarasota area of Florida and plan to invest there.  I know the area decently well and feel that it would be easier than buying rental properties at each of my duty locations (common tactic with military members).  Right now my investment plan is targeted towards a Buy and Hold strategy around multi-family homes.  I am sure I will have several questions about military investing, deal analysis, long distance investing, and much more.  Thanks in advance, I know this site can offer tons of quality advice and information.  I look forward in continuing my real estate education and hopefully finding my first deal!