Not a big debt guy so I would rather pay these off as we go rather than leverage them.I believe I can have a better lifestyle doing this. 

The religious order pays the rent and the process of paying it is a pain, but it's not a money issue, it's their internal procedures.

Lifestyle please such negativity for no reason.

Then I began searching for a Real Estate Investment Group and signed up for Lifestyles Unlimited (LU) as a recommendation of a family friend who has retired at 37 and live on passive income.

"the cutting edge real estate online marketing strategies"Darn, I miss the old trailing edge strategies.Sorry, unless you're at a global scale, SEOs (even if you pay religiously) aren't much of a high-quality traffic generator. 

I lived in Crucita for a few years but now live full time in San Clemente where we are starting our condo development project.It's definitely worth coming back especially if you already have a feel for Ecuador and if the lifestyle and culture resonated with you.

Thankfully I love my job and plan to do it until retirement, but I see real estate investing as a great way to have the lifestyle we want while still allowing me to do what I love to do.

I will retire and will get a % in retirement income- my base plans center on this concept...I know I will need to earn at least an equivalent income to maintain my lifestyle so my current pay minus the retirement pay becomes the target 'free and clear' number I am targeting to earn from rentals.2years: purchase rentals such as to meet the requirements above in the Everett area so that I can do it locally and learn the ins/outs of property management...5years: develop (aggressively) rentals in Tucson Arizona to an arbitrary level of 10K/month (this would be in addition to my living income from retirement checks and Everett rentals.7years: (side goal- personal dreams and all...) finance a golf tour across the country10years: Certified/Sophisticated investor status and begin investment journey in other asset classes (if not there already...)These are just loose concepts in my mind, with the exception of course that when I finally do 'retire' from the Navy, I really do have a goal of having replaced my current levels of income so that I don't have to work for others unless it is something that I really want to do.I see my primary focus as being in the buy/hold/rent arena, but I am not discounting other methods including wholesale and fix/flip projects for capital injections periodically.Finally, I see a lot of value in the Rich Dad encouragement for folks to get into business.

I've pretty much been a bi-stander up to this point, meaning I don't post topics or comment very often but I do religiously read articles and listen to pod casts on a daily basis and have for quite some time now.My dilemma is this...

Most consumers think the lowest rate equals the best option (pure social conditioning) with out looking at terms, tax implications, lifestyle/cash flow planning down the road, or even assessing the risk, exit strategies, asset protection, contingency planning etc.There are probably ton more but hope that helps point you in the right direction.I would ask for a referral and vet out the loan officer online or from past clients.