Army Introduction

[Joe Salmond]

Hello everyone!
I've been lurking around for a good while and finally decided to write up an introduction and make an attempt to be more involved.
I'm in the Army and probably will be for a good while, so that's a big factor in my investing plans. I bought a couple of SFH 5 or 6 years ago. I was pretty proud of it at the time, especially sinced I managed to do it with just about no money behind me. Looking back, it wasn't nearly as clever as I thought it was and has cost me money rather than made it. I do have some ok equity though and I learned a great deal from it, so it wasn't the worst thing ever.
I backed off from investing for the last few years as work kept me busy, but I've got some money behind me now and I like to think I'm a little older and wiser and I'm getting ready to give it a second shot. I am looking at multifamily properties this time and am currently in the process of finding out what I can pull off.
I have done a pretty poor job of doing things the right way so far, so I'm also trying to straighten that out and get a good team of professional built up to support me. So that's pretty much where I'm at. Hopefully I can network, get to know some like minded people, and maybe one day be able to be of some assistance to someone.
Happy New Year,
Joe

[Glenn Espinosa]

As an active duty military personnel who is currently deployed and has rentals - DON'T let the fears such as what Michael B. is suggesting hold you back from investing. If you do it right, the benefits far outweigh the risks.

I can come up with a thousand would be scenarios that would scare me from investing but instead I focus on only the things I can control - what I buy, who I rent to, who I have to manage it, etc.

If you find good tenants from the start and a good property manager, you will be fine. Will there be headaches? YES. Will you lose money some months and have to pay out of pocket for some stupid, unplanned expense? YES. But if you buy right, find the right tenants, and have a good support system on the ground, then you will be fine and definitely much better than your cohorts who chose not to invest due to fear.

Real estate is all about calculated risks. Put the due diligence in on the front end, build a strong support system, and put in the hard work and you will reap the benefits.

If not amass the cash and let others (like me and a ton of other BPers) use it and take the risks out of your hands. We'll pay you good returns but definitely not nowhere as good as if you were to do it yourself.

Glenn