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Updated about 7 years ago, 10/24/2017
Newbie from Rhodie (AKA Rhode Island)
Hello BP community! My name is Kevin and I have just moved to Rhode Island by way of Sacramento, CA. I am an active duty Air Force member which prompted the move. I am a complete newbie to real estate. The extent of my real estate knowledge is that I have lived in a house before. Of course, I am actively changing that fact by listening to the BP podcast (shout out to Josh and Brandon), and reading as much material as I can get my hands on.
My goal for real estate investing is to become financially independent by the time I retire from the Air Force so that I don't have to work for anyone else. My family and I enjoy traveling and I see real estate investing as a way for us to be able to do more of that. I plan on focusing on buy-and-hold single and multi-families.
I am in a unique situation since I reside in a location that I don't plan on living for longer than the next few years. That being said, I plan to buy a house that I would occupy which I can then rent out when I leave. I am not opposed to house hacking but would have to work on the wife a little bit. Anyway, I look forward to learning more and interacting with this awesome community that has been built here at BP. If there are any folks from Rhode Island on here please say hi.
Cheers.
Welcome @Kevin Baird, are you at the war college? We started investing while my husband was active, the demands of military life were a huge motivation for us to design a life that aligned with our interests and values. You can definitely use the frequent moves and VA loan to your advantage and you can get started as soon as your ready and have a team in place. BP is great and feel free to reach out as you get started!
@Kevin we have a small but active community here in Rhode Island, welcome!
If you're able to, I recommend attending a RI Real Estate Investors Group meeting as it's a good mix of newer folks and active investors, and has a lot of good information without trying to sell any books/tapes/seminars. They usually meet the 3rd Thursday of each month in Warwick but see the website (rireig.com) for exact info including the speaker topic of each meeting.
And you're welcome to post here as you have questions too of course :)
Hello @Kevin Baird, welcome to BiggerPockets! It is great to have you and please feel free to jump in the community - there are certainly great people around here!
@Jennifer S. I am actually not at the war college. I am a recruiting supervisor for the region and work out of Warwick. I will definitely be looking at ways that I can use the VA loan program to my advantage. Thanks for the welcome.
@Anthony Thompson, thanks for responding. I absolutely plan on attending the local RI REI group meetings. I am looking to learn as much as I can and to network and learn from others. Thanks again for the warm welcome.
Hi Kevin, and welcome to Rhode Island. I have lived in RI my whole life and consider myself a novice investor. I will give you my two cents on your plan. RI is the second most densely populated state in the country. We have a ton of multi family houses and a large rental population. We also have high real estate prices and property taxes. I have priced out many deals over the years and investing in single families is much more difficult to hit a reasonable cash flow number in our market. This coupled with the fact that you are planning on leaving in a few years makes me think it would be extremely difficult for you to make an investment in a single family that has the return you are looking for (especially with the added cost of out of state management once you move). If you can convince your wife to at least invest in a two family it would be much easier. I went through the same discussion with my wife but once she realized how cheap our monthly housing cost was she was on board. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions.
Kevin Baird welcome! I've know quite a few army leaders that purchased a new place every time they PCSed, found a local PM company and had another cash flowing rental when they left. Wish I had done it while I was still in. Good Luck!
Hi Kevin, I am also a life long Rhode Islander. Connect with some of us and let me know if you have any questions about the area or with tax and accounting issues. Listening to the podcasts is a great start. Good Luck!
Welcome to BP and RI @Kevin Baird. If I can be of any assistance regarding REI in the Ocean State, I am more than willing to offer my assistance.
@Marc Beaulieu thanks for the advice. This is exactly the type of local advice that I need. I have definitely been leaning towards a multi-family for the reasons that you stated. Another option that I have thrown around is to look at a rehab property and do a live-in rehab/flip project. My concern there though is that the market is looking a bit toppy and a market correction may not be that far in the future. Thanks for the reply.
@Brandon Ingegneri Thank you for reaching out to say hello.
Welcome aboard @Kevin Baird! BP is a great resource! I hope to see you at an upcoming RIREIG meeting! As @Anthony Thompson said, they are very informative, regardless of your experience level, and a great networking opportunity.
@Jeffrey Bibby @Jared Viernes @Dave Visaya @Colleen F.Thank you all for taking the time to reach out and say hello.
@Kevin Baird I bought a two family in Newport last year. It took quite a bit of looking and analyzing to pull the trigger. If you're interested in my experience and thoughts on the area feel free to send me a PM.
Hi Kevin. Welcome to BP and RI, and thank you for your service.
My father was stationed in Connecticut as a recruiter in the navy for a while back in the early 90's, hopefully the requirements for the position have changed since then. It was not a good experience for him.
I'm a realtor with Keller Williams Realty Newport/East Bay. I'm also a real estate investor in RI. My wife & I own a multi family house in Newport with a partner, in addition to the home own and occupy in Portsmouth.
I would love to get together with you to help you develop a plan for purchasing some investment properties. My contact information is listed in my profile. Please feel free to reach out to me any time with any questions you might have.
I look forward to speaking with you, and i wish you the best of luck with your investing and your Air Force career.
Welcome @Kevin Baird sounds like you have some awesome goals ahead. I was able to quit my job and use real estate investing to still have enough money to pay the bills. Traveling is such a perk! Best of luck to you, very possible goals!