How I Started Investing in Real Estate while in the Military

Investing Is No Secret

Why most people choose to invest is no secret.

There are a lot of different investments out there - from stocks, crypto, forex, etc… then, real estate. There is a lot of turmoil right now in the stock market. There is a lot of uncertainty whether or not we're going into a bear market. Bitcoin is down less than $20,000. So we're hovering around an area from a high, six months ago of over $69,000!

Invest In What You Know

There are a lot of ways that we can invest today. I always say that knowledge is power and that knowledge allows you to achieve the highest returns as an investor. So for me, it was diving into real estate soon after I was commissioned as an Air Force officer. I had the same decision to make. I had a lot of friends that advised me to invest in index funds, to invest in stocks. They said, “You need to be picking stocks, the market is going up”. But I didn't have any knowledge about stocks since no one in my family invested in stocks or invested period.

My First Investment

After going through the experience of buying my first house using my VA loan, and paying over $300 less than what I had to pay in rent, I was hooked! Since I used my VA loan and with lender credits. I didn't have to pay any money out of pocket. I would leverage my VA loan another three times over the course of my career to buy foreclosures when we relocated. It opened my eyes to the power of real estate and how so many people became rich through real estate and built massive wealth. 

Investment That Produced Billionaires

Over the last two centuries, real estate has produced the most billionaires than any other asset class. I think it is a testament that people always need somewhere to stay. Plus if you're able to find good deals, then you can build a passive income machine. The #1 investment rule is to buy low and sell high. In the case of real estate, buying low, refinancing, and keeping it forever is the name of the game – because of the tax advantages, debt pays down, cash flow, and asset appreciation.

Real Estate Strategies

I’ve been investing in real estate for over 16 years now and have executed different strategies such as:

Fix and flip - which is buying low, fixing it up, and selling it high for profit.

Wholesale - you find deals and just sell the purchase contract to other real estate investors as-is.

Turnkey - buying a property that has already been renovated, rented out, and has a project property management company already in place…rental property done for you.

BRRR method - if you want to be hands-on and kind of on the same route as fix and flip but you want to keep it instead of selling it. Buy a value-add property. Rehab to push value. Rent it out - keep it as a rental property in your portfolio. Refinance to cash out and… Repeat.

Lender - where you become a bank or be a private lender, and just lend your money out on the deal and be the bank.

Key Team Members (To Get Started)

I started out on my journey with no employees with all the lead generation effort to find deals falling on me. Along this journey, I learned that I could build a team to allow me to focus on strategies to grow my portfolio. The Military taught me how to be a great leader and how to lead a team of diverse people - here are the key members of my team that allow me to buy real estate virtually::

Lead Generation Specialist - a virtual assistant that helps with outreach and nurturing leads

Acquisitions Manager - boots on the ground (14 hours away from me in Panama City, Florida)

Executive Assistant - manages the day-to-day pieces of the business

Active Duty Air Force | The Military CEO

While I'm still on active duty Air Force, working a full-time day job, I've had to step into the leadership role in my company. I prefer to go through the non-traditional vs traditional buying and selling process. We are solving other people’s problems centered around real estate which provides a lot of opportunities. My company, Operation Invest LLC is centered around acquiring different types of properties:

• Distressed assets - properties that need a little love, owners not able to cover rehab
• Motivated sellers (owners that have challenges in life) - with a loved one who passed away, a couple going through a divorce, mom and pop owners
• Tired landlord - who had to evict tenants who don't have the money to turn over the place
• Moving owners - they found a new job and just have to leave the area really fast
• Plus many more...