Newbie in Indiana Starting Late but Planning to Finish Strong

[Jim Keplinger]

Good evening BiggerPockets!

I'm not sure how it took me so long to get here, but boy I'm glad to have arrived at last. I am a complete beginner, I've been VERY slow to get my head in the game, but I have spent the last five weeks inhaling anything and everything on this site, books, podcasts, et al as I learn how to play the game.

As way of introduction, here's a very small snippet of my origin story:

I left the US Air Force in 1999 where I was the chief meteorologist of the Armed Forces Network. I then spent 10 years working as a comic book writer and letterer while raising my children and moving from 5-star resort to 5-star resort where my wife opened and developed spas. During the crash of 2009 we settled in Bloomington, Indiana (sight unseen) where I have now completed two degrees at Indiana University (BS in Entrepreneurship and Corporate Innovation and an MS in Information Science). While in school, my wife and I have built a very successful spa/wellness center, developed a residential laundry service with laundromat, and recently opened a massage school. I also work occasionally as a professional magician and mindreader.

In short, my wife and I are good at creating businesses and not being adulty if at all possible. 

Real Estate Investing seems to make sense...now that I have actually found out what it is and how it works.

FUN TRIVIA: I have moved 48 time (30 states, 5 countries).

My current Real estate goal is in multi-family properties, where I intend to creat enough wealth for my wife and I to head back overseas indefinitely and have the checks come to us. However, while I plan to be aggressive once I get rolling (not a single roll yet), I'm taking my time to plan my work so I can then work my plan.

But I'm close...today I may have found the first acquisition: a two duplex property (4 units, 12 beds) that at worst has a Cash Flow of $500 based on current rent roll (all units leased), but as all the units are leasing at least $100 under market (and leases are all up within 8 months) the upside looks rosey. NOW I just need to figure out financing.

Thank you BiggerPockets and BiggerPockets community for being such an amazing resource until now, I look forward to deep diving from here on out!

Thank YOU!

Jim