@Ryan Rubel There are certainly quite a few restrictions in those two areas, in Carlsbad you have to be within the coastal Zone...I have a multifamily in Carlsbad Village a block outside of the coastal zone so I'm unable to operate it as an STR unfortunately.

That figure is a combination of what we save from our W2's and reinvesting all our profits back into the business.

Many insurance policies also require re-development within two years, a near impossible timeline in a region with the coastal commission, perhaps only second to Manhattan in terms of permitting and red tape.

@Daniel Vo, sent you a message but I am proof that you can start in your late 30's and figure this all out while still serving and setting yourself up to grow even more when you retire from the military.

Screen by what you're looking for; housing scarcity, tax implications, barrier of entry, coastal, climate risk off or on, etc.

U can buy a 3 bd 2 bad 1500 sq foot rancher in many mid west markets for 150 to 250k..Take the exact same house and put it in Palo Alto CA and its 2.5 mil to 4 mil.. so the agents in the SF Bay area make a lot of money because thats where they live and work agents in many mid west markets work just as hard but do not make anywhere near the same given their market and where they choose to live.. 2mil plus flips your obviously in a high priced coastal market or maybe Denver or ski areas or prime northern chicago etc etc..

All my tenants in various cities that have had renewals offered have accepted, except for two in coastal SC cities as they're moving states.

@Karl KauperI have had clients do 1031's and I have helped a client with a reverse 1031.

We work with many military investors here in Coastal Carolina.

Maybe if you had a good, secure location to store things you could pre-order stuff you think you might need for your next project(s) and stockpile it.