San Diego Based REI Newbie

[Josh Fannon]

Hey guys, it's great to be here! Have already learned so much from the BP network of articles and podcasts. 

A little about me (us): I am 31, Active Military, and stationed in San Diego. Looking to get into REI on the east coast, looking at long-term buy and hold rentals. Not really looking for a ton of cash flow. Wife and I were just kind of realizing that we made more money than we needed, and we could keep pouring it into IRAs and Mutual Funds, or buy some (comparatively) crazy cheap properties in other markets. Very few are scarier to buy in than San Diego!

Wife and I were talking about it, and our friend is also young and makes more money than he really knows what to do with. We all decided to go into business together and with our pooled resources buy some property, and build a portfolio where other people are paying our mortgages. Making just enough cash flow to cover all our expenses and pay taxes, maybe take a little after all the bills are paid. 

We are in the tail end of saving up our (at least what we thought) minimum 20% down for the first property, and discovering that an LLC is most likely not going to work for us (No history of performance = no 'credit'). We have A+ credit, no dumb debt, but we are learning all those things mean almost nothing through an entity. So now we are back to the drawing board on how to split the ownership between the three of us.

I guess this turned into more than an intro haha... I blame my direct approach to problem solving. So now you know (more than you want to) about me. I look forward to getting to know you all as we all work towards our dreams!