Newbie diving in with a house hack / STR!

[Cassandra M Stanton]

Hello all! Not COMPLETELY new to REI - but new to the Bigger Pockets life.

I've had a LTR in Virginia for about 5 years and am getting into house hacking + STRs for the first time. I LOVE my neighborhood of St. Pete and am scheduled to close on my 2nd property in about a week!! I'm so nervous and excited. Looking to buy another multi-family in the next year or so (doesn't have to be a STR).

I'm an active duty Marine Officer with about 2 years left before I can retire, so I absolutely want to maximize my W2s while I can.  I also want to take advantage of all the veteran's assistance programs out there.  Ideally I'd like to stop HAVING to work in about 10 years and just live off of my REIs...

Looking forward to connecting with other like-minded investors and hopefully find a mentor or two...I'd really love to expand into other markets (I love Tampa, but it ain't the cheapest)!

Looking forward to meeting future friends on here!