Building a Rental Portfolio From Abroad

[James Newman]

Hey everyone,

I’m 29 years old and graduated from Bentley University with a degree in Finance in 2019. Although I do not currently work directly in finance, I stay very engaged with my own personal finances and continue educating myself on investing, wealth building, and real estate.

I currently work for the U.S. government overseas, usually on multi-year assignments. One advantage of my situation is that I do not currently have a mortgage or rent payment, which allows me to save roughly $60,000 per year in liquid cash. I am currently one year in to a 3 year tour, with the ability to extend. 

Most of my investing so far has been in the stock market and some cryptocurrency, but I am looking to diversify and start building a long-term portfolio of single-family rental homes. I am open to investing out of state and am focused on markets with solid rental demand, reasonable acquisition costs, and long-term growth potential.

My goal is to learn the fundamentals, make a smart first purchase, and gradually scale into a portfolio over time. I am especially interested in hearing from people who invest remotely, use property managers, or have experience building rental portfolios while living outside the U.S.

Looking forward to learning from everyone here and contributing where I can.