Hello from an excited NEWB

[Derek Stewart]

Hello everyone! I am interested in real estate investing as an income supplement and retirement tool for the future. My 3 month old son recently became the center of my wife and my world and I now feel even more motivated than before to make sure I provide the example, the future and the means for him to become an amazing man/father/husband/friend/business partner some day. I have never purchased a property as I have been in the Marines for almost 9 years and fortunately I never made the mistake to make an uneducated purchase. If I had, after hearing and reading everything I have, it would probably have been a horror story. I will be in a position to purchase a home when I leave active duty in Feb 2018 and I really want to prepare to make a good, educated decision as this will be my first purchase but also a buy/hold rental for my portfolio as soon as possible. The downside is not knowing where I will be working, the location we will have to move too or how much time I will have to make the purchase. I love the podcasts, look forward to diving into forums and blogs and I plan to start analyzing a couple properties a day very soon and I am not afraid to ask questions. I really love everything I have come across so far on biggerpockets.com and appreciate what it is that the site provides to so many people.