Hey! Young Air Force from Delaware.

[Justin Worster]

Hi everyone, I'm Justin Worster, originally from southern Delaware, but have recently been stationed through the Air Force at Fort Meade in Maryland.
I'm at the ripe age of 21, and have been carrying around a desire to get started in real estate in some way, shape, or form since I was in middle school. I chose the military route to follow my passions for language and linguistics and have so far reached fluency in three languages, with more to come.
I've been able to save up money and am hoping to purchase my first property (owner-occupied) taking advantage of the VA loan, then proceed to rent it out to military coworkers as I move on.
I hope to begin with this first property as a slight fixer-upper turned rental, and carry on to have at least 2 rental properties and possible dabble in a flip before I change stations to California in early 2016.
Currently, I scavenge for REI blogs such as this one and realestateinyourtwenties.com and other various posts I find through google searches and references. I also pick up any books said blogs recommend, in hopes to learn more and decrease the worry I have to get started.
I've made friends with a successful and honest broker near my base who has given me a lot of information on the area and home-buying process. He has also given me contacts for respected lenders and real estate attorneys in the area. I've found a local REIA group that I plan on swinging by and seeing what I can learn.
Ideally, through all of this, I'd like to find a mentor I can shadow, and help out where possible through physical labor, etc. in order to gain experience and limit my risk of failure when it's time for me to make all this happen. Also, I'm looking for free/inexpensive courses to learn basic home-improvement things, such as monthly classes held at Home Depot.

If you've read through all of this, I appreciate it. Furthermore, I'm anxious to continue reading all of the great material you all post to this site, as it's given me reassurance that this is what I really want to do. In some way, shape, or form I'll be involved in real estate investing.

I wish you all a happy, successful New Year!

Respectfully,
Justin Worster

[Glenn Espinosa]

Welcome to BP Justin Worster! Nice to see a fellow military member on here.

I like the VA loan plan. In fact it's what I did with my residence back at home. I bought a fixer upper quad and currently rent it out. I pocket my BAH, live for free, have others pay down my mortgage, and put a nice sum in my pocket every month! And I put ZERO down.. It's a nice gig and way better than some of my cohorts who spend more than their BAH on similar living arrangements. :)

It looks like you're going down the right path with networking. Keep educating yourself, networking, saving, and keep an eye out for deals. Let BP know if you find one and don't hesitate to make moves when the right opportunity comes by.

Best of luck in 2013! I'll be moving up to the DC area late 2013, let me know if you wanna meet up.

Glenn