I am going to be retiring from the Coast Guard very soon and am wanting to get more into real estate.

I understand this saves money, but it does take up a lot of time.Would I be able to find properties that wouldn't be on listsource or other lead websites?

Start by spending less, saving everything you can, and paying down your highest debts first.

One area I've found very fruit-ful is the recently retired demographic who need/are ready to move and don't have the ability to upgrade their homes for maximum sale price.  

Save your money.

I My friend was in the same situation as you 1 year ago I told her to get a second job and start working on her credit. 1 year later she has over 40k saved and credit is up over 700 now.

Foreclosure was already started & we were lucky to know it was finished & occupant evicted by the time we got it.This saved us a lot of time and money in a judicial state like Wisconsin.

One of the ways I found could bring the deal back to the table is if I use one of the Flat Fee MLS listing services and save almost a full 3% in my side of the commission to an agent.

My goal is to continue to grow our rental property portfolio so my wife and I can retire early, travel and spend time with our family.

They money you are saving on personal rent should/could fairly be considered income.