All Forum Posts by: Elizabeth Colegrove

I tell my tenants that all improvements must be approve by me. Although I will consider all desired improvements. I may not be able to approve them due to the long term impact on rentability. I always ask them to continue asking. If they are improvements I would do myself, sometimes I subsidize them, if they have the expertise.

I am a Newbie who invests in all parts of the United States due to our unique opportunities. We have had the opportunity to exam many different areas by directly living in them. We have been renter/buyers and area newbies. Therefore we have been able to see the areas in many different lights.

My husband is a Naval Officer who has been station in 6 different cities (5 unique states) in 4 years. I have had the opportunity to join him in this unique opportunity. Real Estate has been a passion of mine since I was 17. In the beginning we were passive as we did not have the fund to invest. We still studies and exam each area while learning from others ( both their positive and negative experiences).

In the past 18 months we have bought 4 houses. 2 were pure investments and 2 were personal properties. Currently one personal property is being rented out due to a military move (the reason for the purchase second personal property). We buy all houses (even if they are currently personal property) as if they were rental investments. We evaluate each area we have the opportunity to visit/live in, to examine it's potential for investments. As we move so much for my husbands job, living in the same town is not a requirement. There is a good chance we will not live there in 2 years even if it is currently know as "home".

So far we have been successful. All of our houses currently cash flow and vacancies/turn over have not been an issue. We have bought turn-key to total cosmetic guts. I manage all the houses myself. I have an infostructure in every place to assist me as my "eyes". My goals are

2013- 3 more houses
2014- 3 more houses (maxing out 10 allowable mortgages)
2015-2029- own 25-55 houses depending on market conditions and opportunities
2029- Retire on the rentals cash flows and my husbands military pension

I have really enjoyed following your posts these past few months. I look forward to becoming an active participants while continuing to learn from everyone knowledge and experiences. Reading the forums has already allowed us to overcome some road blocks. I look forward to having the opportunity to "pick" other peoples brain for ideas and wisdom.