Real Estate Broker · Charlotte, NC · Member since 2019 · 13 posts · 0 votes
Hello,
My name is Richard, I am 22 years old and an active duty Marine. I plan on making the Marine Corps a career, but I also want to start investing for my future while I serve. My main interest has been in real estate; after listening to the bigger pockets podcast for a few weeks I've been even more confident that real estate is the investing path that I want to take. However, I have also realized all the challenges that come with this path and that also being in the Military could become a "juggling act, " so to speak. A majority of the advice I have received is to educate myself, save money, and wait until I get out. The only problem with this is, to go along with what I mentioned before, I want to continue to serve for some time and do not want to wait until I leave the military to start investing in my future. I would like to hear from others with their advice, and what the best way of getting started in this demanding field while handling other responsibilities might be. Thank you for taking the time to read this.
In order to give advice I think the reader needs to know more about your living situation. Do you have a "home base" town/city that you will be coming back too regularly? If so, that will certainly make it easier. It is definitely doable and has been done in the past but your frequency of getting PCSed and/or deployed will be a heavy factor in the logistics of pulling this off. Where there's a will, there's a way...
In order to give advice I think the reader needs to know more about your living situation. Do you have a "home base" town/city that you will be coming back too regularly? If so, that will certainly make it easier. It is definitely doable and has been done in the past but your frequency of getting PCSed and/or deployed will be a heavy factor in the logistics of pulling this off. Where there's a will, there's a way...
Thank you for your response. To answer your question, I'm stationed in North Carolina, and will be in the same spot for at least two years. Deployment is very unlikely due to the type of duty Station I am at, but I do have to travel stateside frequently. Typically once every two months for a period of up to a week. Again, thank you, and I appreciate your enthusiasm!
@R.T. Jenkins welcome! If I could give one recommendation, it’d be to ignore the people who tell you that you have to wait 20 years until you get out. As was mentioned (can’t remember the name, typing from my phone), there are a lot of things to take into consideration and you’ll need to make sure you put systems in place. But if you have the drive, the will, and you have the goals you want to bring to life it’ll go a long way in helping you get there.
I was stationed in Kansas for 6 years, and I’m just kicking myself for never investing while I was there. Your head is in the right spot, so just be deliberate about what you do.
I’m also in Charlotte, so feel free to reach out if you want to chat. We have a great group locally that meets monthly, as well as a platform to stay in touch. Happy to connect you to anyone I can!