All Forum Posts by: Jordan Malara

Topic: This month we will be discussing how to analyze potential markets for investing. Whether you are looking to invest out of state or plan to PCS in the future, this week you will learn how to decide whether to invest in a market or look elsewhere.

Overview: I’d like to invite all active duty, reservists, veterans and their families to join me for a new local meetup focused on connecting like-minded military real estate investors! My intent with this meetup is to support military members in their pursuit of real estate investing and financial freedom. This meetup is completely FREE with no sales pitch included. Just a space for everyone to come together, share their experience and knowledge, and foster mutually beneficial relationships. It will primarily be a time of networking and learning from each other, but depending on how the group grows, I may look at bringing in speakers for each meetup.

I'd like to make this a monthly meetup, so I need your help to spread the word to get this meetup started strong!

Future discussion topics include:
- Basics of investing while in the military
- Comparison of loan types
- Investing strategies
- Renting vs Buying in various markets
- Investing while oversea’s
- How to invest in real estate using your Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)
- Finding a Property Manager when you PCS

About Me: I was born and raised in Upstate New York before going down to Oklahoma for college where I studied mechanical engineering while also participating in Air Force ROTC. After graduation, I commissioned into the Air Force and was stationed at Schriever AFB in Colorado Springs, CO. Then, at about my 3 year mark in the Air Force I had the opportunity to transfer into the United Stated Space Force. During my time in the Air Force and Space Force I worked as a satellite operator and commander for the GPS satellite constellation (2 SOPS). It was during my first few years in the military that I discovered real estate investing and it has changed my life since. In a few short years my wife and I have gone from 1 door to 12 doors with a balanced portfolio of long term rentals, medium term rentals and short term rentals (Airbnbs). We are well on our way to financial freedom and my desire now is to help others get there too!

Hey Colorado Springs, I’d like to invite all active duty, reservists, veterans and their families to join me for a local meetup focused on connecting like-minded military real estate investors! The intent of this meetup is to support military members in their pursuit of real estate investing and financial freedom. This meetup is completely FREE with no sales pitch included. Just a space for everyone to come together, share their experience and knowledge, and foster mutually beneficial relationships. It will primarily be a time of networking and learning from each other.

Meetup Topic: This week we will discuss how to invest in real estate using your Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). We will also touch on how you can do this using other non-government IRAs and 401k's.

Future discussion topics include:

• - Basics of investing while in the military
• - Comparison of loan types
• - Investing strategies
• - Renting vs Buying in various markets
• - Investing while oversea’s
• - How to invest in real estate using your Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)
• - Finding a Property Manager when you PCS

About Me: I was born and raised in Upstate New York before going down to Oklahoma for college where I studied mechanical engineering while also participating in Air Force ROTC. After graduation, I commissioned into the Air Force and was stationed at Schriever AFB in Colorado Springs, CO. Then, at about my 3 year mark in the Air Force I had the opportunity to transfer into the United Stated Space Force. During my time in the Air Force and Space Force I worked as a satellite operator and commander for the GPS satellite constellation (2 SOPS). It was during my first few years in the military that I discovered real estate investing and it has changed my life since. In a few short years my wife and I have gone from 1 door to 12 doors with a balanced portfolio of long term rentals, medium term rentals and short term rentals (Airbnbs). We are well on our way to financial freedom and my desire now is to help others get there too!

@Ryan Thomson another great post that puts the overall benefits of real estate investing into perspective. So often investors get stuck looking at cash flow as they think that is the only important metric. In reality, cash flow is only a small measure of overall return. I am still a firm believer that house hacking is the best way to get into real estate and will yield the greatest overall return.

Hey @Joseph Vecchione, you should come out to the local house hacker and real estate investor meetup that I co-host twice a month. It’s every 2nd and 4th Thursday at 6:30 PM. More info can be found in the meetups tab on BiggerPockets or I can PM you some additional info as well. 

Happy to help in any way needed as you plan your move to the area. I’ve been an investor in the area for the past 6 years and work full time helping others find investments in the area as well. Best of luck!

@Joe Richissin Haha I remember those! No worries, hopefully the meetup next month will be a better time for you

Hey @Matt Aertker! Congrats on getting started! I'm an investor in CO Springs and have 3 MTRs and a number of STRs as well! Happy to connect and help out in any way possible.

I also co-host a local meetup in town with some other STR/MTR investors. You can find our meetup by going to "Build Tour Team", then "Local Meetup" and typing in Colorado Springs.

@Rita Samaddar If you're looking in Pueblo I would suggest Pueblo West (81007 - as you mentioned) or the north side of Pueblo (81001, 81008, or 81003). The further south you go, the worse it gets.

Overall, Pueblo is a decent investment market. The quality of tenants will be lower than what you will find here in the Springs, but acquisition prices are a bit better. I also think you will see greater appreciation in the Springs compared to Pueblo, but I am encouraged by how the City of Pueblo is doing what they can to revitalize the town. Hopefully that is a good sign for future growth.

One other key factor I'll highlight to make sure you are aware of is the new Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac regulations that went into effect in March 2023 regarding refinance timeframes. Essentially, most homeowners must now wait 12 months to refinance, whereas previously it was only 6 months. There are exceptions to this of course, but definitely something to look into as it could affect your BRRRR timeframe and plan.

Hope that helps and feel free to reach out if you have other questions!

@Elijah Maestas I worked for a brokerage in the Springs under the DOD SkillBridge Program and took a job with them after. They may be open to doing it again. I would recommend reaching out to @Jacob Mueller. 

I'm happy to connect as well if you have any questions or need any advice. 

Hey Colorado Springs, I’d like to invite all active duty, reservists, and veterans to join me for a new local meetup focused on connecting like-minded military real estate investors! My intent with this meetup is to support military members in their pursuit of real estate investing and financial freedom. This meetup is completely FREE with no sales pitch included. Just a space for everyone to come together, share their experience and knowledge, and foster mutually beneficial relationships. It will primarily be a time of networking and learning from each other, but depending on how the group grows, I may look at bringing in speakers for each meetup.

Meetup Topic: This month we will discuss how to analyze whether you should rent or buy at each of your duty stations.

Future discussion topics include:

• - Basics of investing while in the military
• - Comparison of loan types
• - Investing strategies
• - Renting vs Buying in various markets
• - Investing while oversea’s
• - How to invest in real estate using your Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)
• - Finding a Property Manager when you PCS

About Me: I was born and raised in Upstate New York before going down to Oklahoma for college where I studied mechanical engineering while also participating in Air Force ROTC. After graduation, I commissioned into the Air Force and was stationed at Schriever AFB in Colorado Springs, CO. Then, at about my 3 year mark in the Air Force I had the opportunity to transfer into the United Stated Space Force. During my time in the Air Force and Space Force I worked as a satellite operator and commander for the GPS satellite constellation (2 SOPS). It was during my first few years in the military that I discovered real estate investing and it has changed my life since. In a few short years my wife and I have gone from 1 door to 12 doors with a balanced portfolio of long term rentals, medium term rentals and short term rentals (Airbnbs). We are well on our way to financial freedom and my desire now is to help others get there too!

@Dmitry Smirnov Happy to hop on a call sometime to answer any questions you may have. I personally have a handful of STRs in CO Springs and our company, Renjoy, manages about 80 STR units in the area. I can definitely talk through the management side of it as well if you would like.