Newbie future retired Army investor.

[Phil Begay]

Hey everyone!

My name is Phil. I am a newbie to this industry. I have been in the Army for a long time (19 years) and it is time to hang up them boots. The military is all I know. I am a Field Artillery Technician in the Army. I believe my job has given me the skills to tackle on this career path. I do not have any experience in property investments. I would not know where to begin. Prior to the military I used to work construction (framing and roofing) and I also worked in the electronics industry. I have always wanted to start investing, but I have been too intimidated by it. I hope to pick at you all's knowledge so I can get started on my own. Any and all feedback is much appreciated.

[Ken Eck]

Welcome! There are A LOT of Service Members on this site, as well as some good podcast, blogs and articles written regarding military investing. I understand your concern about the high property taxes in El Paso, that's Texas for you.

There are numerous strategies you could choose from, ideally, find one you like/think would work and learn everything about it. I, much like many new investors do, tried to learn about every strategy under the sun and then decide. It wasn't very effective and got me nowhere. One way to narrow it down is to decide do you want to be a passive investor (buy and hold units run by a PM) or active, (Flipping/BRRRR...)

Also much like new military investors, I took advantage of the VA Loan. I lived in the home and when I PCS'ed rented it out and now I am currently doing a cash-out refi open the VA benefits back up and take the equity to use for future investment properties.