My brother was a Marine drill sergeant who did 3 tours in desert storm.

If you want some motivation, go visit Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego which is located by San Diego Bay and just off I-5.

The Marine Corps hadn’t even paid me $17,000 yet before I had over $25,000 in assets.

You all are right - I wont go the public shaming route - it does give a hint of satisfaction to think about it - as I've stated a few local area sports bars have done this with great success when things are damaged or stolen.I just got off the phone with an old college friend that has been an attorney in the Marine Corp JAG division. 

I'm currently active duty Marine corps.

I would encourage you to marinate on that question and then I'm happy to help further if I can.I saw you suggest that you're looking to get properties for 80% of market value.

For those of you in the rest of the country, marinate on what the OP just said.

The problem I see with the strategy you describe is that my one rental in the Bay Area that generates $5,000 in monthly cash has one roof, one hot water heater, one furnace (we generally do not need air conditioning in southern Marin due to our mild weather). 

I also tiled the backsplash.To make the counters look nice I sanded them down and then sealed them with 2-3 coats of MARINE GRADE polyurethane.

I am a new investor to the area of real estate, my previous experience has been mainly with 2 SFR that I have purchased and of those two one is my primary residence whilst the other has been sold already.My previous professional experience involves starting up and running a successful insurance firm for 5 years in Wisconsin after which I transition to a more "active" profession by enlisting and deploying with a Marine Corps unit.