New, New Guy in West TX

[Ben Davis]

Hi guys,

Name's Ben Davis. I'm active military stationed in San Angelo, TX, and am thrilled to be a joining such a positive and enterprising group of like-minded individuals!

A bit about me... I've served just over 12 years in the Air Force and plan at the moment is to retire from active duty sometime around summer 2024. Originally from the Omaha area (also have pretty strong ties to Tri-Cities, Washington) my plan isn't so much to invest where I currently reside as much as it is where I plan to settle after the military in one of the aforementioned markets.

Following the advice I've heard so often regarding how best to get started, I'm seeking to educate myself and get my financial house in order. We did buy a home while stationed in the Augusta, GA area about 10 years ago which we planning on holding as long as it's advantageous to do so. Would love some assistance analyzing the numbers of our property, but will save that for another time...

My long-term goal at the moment is to replace, and eventually double my income with the military, so that when I am ready to retire, I can truly be free to enjoy my family, travel, and do some good in this world. I'm passionate about learning, sports, music, and want the freedom to expose my kids to all of it!

I feel like I have some of the pieces I need, but lack the courage, the time (currently in grad school, work full time, and family is sort of important to me...) and the organization to really take off. My immediate plan is to, as I said, get my house in order and get smart on what I'm wanting to do, so I can mitigate the inherent risks involved so I can get my wife onboard!

TLDR;

New guy. West TX. Excited to be here. Ready to learn.

-bd

[Kerry Baird]

Glad to see some 55th alumni here on board! 

We've got some houses in San Angelo, which have done well for us over the years.  The boom in oil brought higher prices, but the resulting job reductions caused vacancies with our tenants who were in the oil patch.  We are back with full houses now.  

For the rentals, I start with E-5 or 6 BAH, so I know what to ask for rents.  I ask at the Housing Office on base to see what areas are in demand, and work to harden the rentals so that expenses are reduced at turn-overs.  

We got started with our first owner-occupied property when stationed to the UK.  Soon after buying a big "pretty house" in Tucson, we read Rich Dad, Poor Dad.  And it dawned on us that we could have purchased 4 rental houses instead of the big pretty one.  Well, we moved out of the pretty one after a year, and then picked up a fixer to renovate.  I started doing direct mail, and we were up to 3 houses a month, when we got orders back to England.  

Bought another owner-occupied in the UK when we were posted there the second time, and are now approaching 2 years in the current renovation project here in Florida. We are continually adding value when we buy OO properties that have good bones but need updating, and using every method we can think of to buy long-term holds along the way.

To that end, we have used the 10% savings program, tax-free, combat and hazardous duty pay from deployments, as well as any bonus monies, to get the next house. We have also borrowed against our TSP account to use for down-payment on the current residence.

Hubby recently punched out, and we are looking forward to those deployments ending.  :D  All the best to you both.  I look forward to hearing about your successes.