Travel First & Then Invest, or Invest & Then Travel?

[Benjamin Kirkpatrick]

Hello all,

First time posting to the forums after browsing around for awhile and listening to the podcast. Thought I would ask for some insight from aspiring and seasoned investors..

I'm approaching a major turning point in my life, and transitioning out of military service in the near future. I am dead-set on investing in real estate, specifically multi-unit properties and renting via Airbnb. I thought about purchasing a multi-family unit property in an area near a Naval shipyard as I know I can get tenants in a timely manner, for at least a year. If not there, then an area frequented by travelers. Anyway, I also have an insatiable desire to travel and have been fantasizing and plotting my foreign adventures for years now. I have the perfect opportunity as I will have no debt, no burdening responsibilities, and can basically uproot without harm. I have narrowed down my voyage down to a ~5 month backpacking trip through Southeast Asia and I have funds to cover my pilgrimage and transition back into the "real-world" with a decent cushion, but not enough to immediately purchase a home.

The question I'm asking here is, if you were in my situation, would you purchase an investment property and get everything situated (finances, tenants, etc) BEFORE you travel, or travel first with the ultimate freedom (time), and focus on investing after the journey?

It seems simple to ask, but I feel a lot of people delay travel into some other more "convenient" time of their lives (which never happens; we'll always have duties and responsibilities), and never end up embarking on the adventure they once longed for, minus a brief 2-week hiatus from the corporate jungle to a beached island.

Thank you for reading, and please let me know your thoughts!

Ben

[Kerry Baird]

You may find it difficult to buy a property unless and until you have a W-2 job lined up.  We recently did the same transition.   If we contnued to work in the same industry, the lender would accept the income, but only after seeing the job offer and the first paycheck hit our bank account. We had to hold off on a financing until the lender saw that money in our account.  If we chose some other line of work, the lender we use wouldn't be able to count that income for a period of time (I think 2 years).  

In our situation, we used the leave we'd stored up and traveled during the last weeks before retirement, and while we still had a military paycheck.  We bought a new property once we'd had the new income.

Remember, too, that you can use a VA loan, once you qualify with income, to buy up to 4 units.