Beginner from north of Seattle...but living international

[Wes S.]

Hello BiggerPockets! I've been learning from you for 6 months: blogs, books, podcasts, and forums. Thanks for the great content! I'm new to systematic and purposeful real estate investing, so I'm open-minded and am eager to learn.

My name is Wes Stange. My wife and I own two single-family rentals up in Whidbey Island, Washington (near Island and Skagit counties), near the Navy base. We had another from 2007 that was a doozy of an education, but we sold it last year (I'll post about that adventure sometime). Now, we're interested in building our network in the area north of Seattle and exploring single-family and small multifamily properties.

But here's the twist:  We don't live in the U.S. I work internationally most of the time, and the rest of the time I'm in the other Washington (D.C.) when we happen to be in the country. It seems like the barriers to real estate investing from 6,000 miles away are mostly in my head and not that different from cross-country investors -- but I'd love to hear your suggestions on how to get over that geographic jump!

So what do I bring to the table? Well, if you're interested in Western Washington State investing, I do know some about the area, especially near the many military bases (where I worked for about 6 years). I really like spreadsheets -- learning a new formula is kinda my jam, so I'd be happy to brainstorm on efficient analysis. And on the personal side, I'm a dad, an amateur brewer, and can give you some ideas on your next vacation.