Aerospace to Residential Investing!

[Lukas Dretzka]

Hey everyone, I’m Lukas from South Carolina. I retired as an Army Captain in 2023 and I currently work as a manager in aerospace defense manufacturing managing a ~$3.8B production portfolio. I'm finishing up an MBA in Data Analytics at Clemson and hold a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering.

I'm preparing to co-found an LLC with a fellow Army Captain as a 50/50 partnership focused on long-term rentals and BRRRR projects, or potential flips depending on cash flow. My business partner is currently testing for his South Carolina residential home builder license from which he has extensive home flip experience from previous duty stations. I plan to obtain my residential builder license as well so we can vertically integrate renovations and construction as we scale.

I've been reading through a series of books including: Greene's The BRRRR Trental Property Investment Strategy, Han and Macfarland's Tax Strategy, Turner's Rental Property Investing, and some other LLC strategy guides. I've built a series of investing sensitivity models that are a cornerstone of our operating agreement, helping us analyze deals, manage risk, and guide decision-making with disciplined, data-driven assumptions.

I joined BiggerPockets to continue learning, share insights, and connect with other investors, builders, and lenders who are focused on thoughtful, long-term investing and operational excellence.