All Forum Posts by: Stuart Grazier

@Raffaella P.  I don't think you have to start investing in your local market, especially if the market is expensive and the numbers don't make sense. Don't invest locally just because you want to start investing. You should absolutely invest where the numbers make sense. The biggest key to investing out of state is having a team that you can trust. You can either find that through a turnkey company, or through using your own network and connections to build a team yourself. 

I think the best way to get started investing out of state is through a turnkey company. However, I say that with caution because there are a lot of bad turnkey companies so do your research and make sure you can trust them to manage your investment properly. Get references, ask a lot of questions, and you could even make a trip to visit the market and meet the team. Starting with a turnkey company will get your feet wet and will teach you the basics of buying rental property without having to deal with many of the challenges that may come with trying to do it on your own. 

If you want to build your own team once you have a little more experience, that is definitely doable as well. Read @David Greene's book Long Distance Real Estate Investing; it is a fantastic guide to building your own team. 

Good luck and let me know if I can help in any way. Go Navy! Beat Army! 

@David Nacco Why don't you just work on getting your real estate license so you can transition out of the military and into a new real estate career with ease? No reason you can't start now, especially with all that time off you talk about. 

@Phil Begay Welcome to the community! Congrats on almost making it to retirement; I'm getting close myself as well and looking forward to it. There are tons of military folks on this site that are investing in real estate. Feel free to reach out and let me know how I can help. 

@Victoria Wester Griggs I'm curious to learn more about your program. Can you explain what the InnerCorps is all about? I don't have my real estate license yet, but considering getting it soon. 

@Jaime Munoz There are lots of military investors on this website that would love to help; many with tons of experience that invest in multiple different markets. Check out the Military Investing Forum to connect to more military guys and gals. 

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/834-military-investing

Let me know if I can help in any way. Good luck! 

@Drew McCrory I'd recommend choosing the market that has the most potential for growth and where the numbers make the most sense. If the college town has only one industry (the college) I'd stay away from that. You want to invest in markets that have multiple economic drivers and job/population growth. It it was me, I'd stay clear of college renters. I was once a college renter and know how I treated the properties I lived in (not good). You will have way more turnover/vacancy and way more required repairs. Good luck! 

Thanks @Matt M. and @Ian Martin Much appreciated. 

@Scott Williams Sell sell sell! Like others have already noted, you are going to have negative cash flow if you keep that house and hold it as a rental. Take the tax free profits and buy cash flowing rental properties in a market that makes more sense. The midwest and southeast have great markets where you can buy houses for 1/5th the cost and they offer great returns. If you don't have an established network, there are some fantastic turnkey investment companies that can help you find some great investments and are very trustworthy. You could take that $200k of profit and buy 8 single family turnkey homes at $100k each that will offer passive income from day one. This would put you on a whole new trajectory to building your family wealth!  

Looking for a referral for a great carpet cleaning company to clean carpets in a house I just purchased in Parker that has lots of dog hair and smells like one too. Thanks in advance! 

Join us for happy hour at Dry Dock Brewery in Aurora to network, and learn how to join the ranks of many other military real estate investors. We'll have a special presentation on a specific topic and will also allow time to meet and greet fellow investors. This is free for all active duty, veterans, and their families.

Eventbrite link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/denver-military-investor-network-meetup-tickets-62753820366