Pulling the Trigger in Orlando

[Wayne Steward]

Hey all,

Long time reader/listener - first time poster… I figured it was time to step out of the shadows and become an active member on the Bigger Pockets forums. My name is Wayne and I am a former Air Force pilot, who currently flies a desk for a Fortune 500 - Top 10 Company. My passion for renovating houses started early on in my life, back when “This Old House” was the only reno show on TV. I had always planned on becoming an architect and even worked as a draftsman while still in high school. But when I graduated, the Air Force offered me a pilot slot with a full scholarship to any college I wanted to go to… it was too good of a deal to pass up. In college I majored in Computer Science which is the field I now work in.

Career, family and financial security were always my top priority and there was not a lot of talk about REI back then... so fixing and flipping remained just a dream. I did always renovate the homes I purchased throughout my career and was pretty successful when I eventually moved and sold them. The thought of holding and renting them out seemed like too much of a headache at that time in my life.

Well my 3 daughters are now out of the house with successful careers of their own and our retirement is fully funded. I am ready to pull the trigger and pursue my lifelong passion to fix & flip… the date has been set for January 1st, 2019. I will be leaving corporate America, selling my home in Miami and moving up to our home in Orlando towards the end of the year. I would like to have everything in place to hit the ground running on the first of the year, to include first property in hand. I hope to start attending the REIA groups up in Orlando prior to then and begin building a network. For now though, I have started the search for an REI focused attorney, CPA, real estate agent and wholesaler. Any recommendations that you may have and could pass along, would be greatly appreciated. Initial investments will be cash and I hope to flip 3 homes in 2019. The business plan is to grow the number of flips from there and eventually move into the rental market. I am excited about becoming an active member of the Bigger Pockets community and look forward to learning from all of you. For those of you in the Orlando area, I hope to meet and get to know you personally at one of the local REIA meet-ups.

Thanks for taking the time to learn a little bit about me… have a good one and see ya in the forums!

[KP Capehart]

Hi Wayne,

What a great post to read! Very happy you are ready to take the plunge. My grandfather was an experimental test pilot in the Air Force and flew in the Korean war, father a helicopter pilot in Viet Nam and brother a helicopter pilot doing 2 tours in Iraq and Afganistan. I salute your sacrifice and service. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!