HELLO ALL! Finally getting started in the Tacoma, WA area!

[Brandon Crouse]

Hello BiggerPockets Community,

My name is Brandon Crouse. I am 28 years old and I just joined BiggerPockets this September, 2018. I was born in CA but raised in Springfield, MO. I got interested in real estate investing in high school when my dad bought his first investment property. However, this was right before the market crashed in 2008 and my dad, unfortunately, lost his property. This scared me away from REI.

Since then I got married to my beautiful wife Melissa and we have two wonderful children. I joined the Army in early 2013 and am currently stationed in Washington state. I was done being afraid of REI and bought my first House in July of this year with the intent to rent it out after 3 years of living in it. I considered this my first "Investment Property".

I decided I can't wait 3 years to get started in the Real Estate Investing realm. My goal is to fix and flip my first few properties to build capital and get into rentals using the BRRRR strategy. I want to do this in and around the Tacoma, Olympia, and JBLM area but I am completely open to any deal that comes my way. I have 2 and 1/2 years left on my Army contract and my goal is to be financially free through passive income by the time that contract ends. So, it's time to start grinding!

I am looking for mentors, partners, and creative finance strategies. Looking forward to being part of this community while carving out some time for my hobbies; fishing and Jiu Jitsu.

I give all my thanks to God and cannot wait to get going in real estate with the family he blessed me with.

God Bless!

[Justin Koehn]

@Brandon Crouse Welcome to BP! You are definitely in the right place to start your education and REI adventure! There are a lot of opportunities in the Pierce and Thurston counties with a good deal of competition as well. Here are my top recommendations for that education:

1. Listen to all the BP Podcasts - unbelievable wealth of experience and wisdom.

2. Read the books they recommend! Just make a list and start cranking through them.

3. Go to the Olympia and Tacoma REI meetings. There are several in the Tacoma one. In Olymipa, we meet at Ramblin Jack's the third tuesday of each month. (Follow @Naomi Pinger because she organizes them.)

4. Start making connections with agents, lenders, GCs, and other investors!

Good luck to you and welcome to the PNW! This is a great part of the country with a lot of opportunities! Let me know if you'd like to connect further and grab a coffee or something.