A good goal would be to work up to 6 to 9 months of debt service in reserves. 

What are the growth goals of your company over the next 5 years?

Hi @Jeremy Bartlett, first congrats on setting a goal and taking steps to get there.

GOALS:   I will be retiring from the fire department in about 10 years, and my primary goal in REI is to do live-in flips during that time so I can buy my retirement home with cash, or very little mortgage, and be able to live on my pension and other retirement investments. 

You need to have a solid financial foundation to be successful in real estate, so I would suggest working towards that goal, and then pursuing REI.

We are getting educated as we speak, but our goal is to flip initially and then get into multifamily.

The goal would be to earn some extra side cash to save and to network with other real estate professionals.

I am not looking for a quick dollar and my long term goal is to buy and hold, and leverage rentals to purchase more.

USDA (not all towns), VA (Veterans only - with a DD214), NACA (has some hurdles to jump through.Alternatively, we could negotiate an option, which lets you tie the property up while you organize your finances.There's some due diligence to go through - price, condition and location.That said, you might be able to find the right home faster than you think. 

I am not looking for a quick dollar and my long term goal is to buy and hold, and leverage rentals to purchase more.