I am really interested into buying a multi-family property. How do I get started?

I have a few issues however. One I am in the Navy and always deploying and would like to do 20 years. I am needing this to add to my retirement. Is there a company that can locate and manage property for me? I am 28 and feel with the market the way it is now it is perfect time to get started. I just don't want to wait any longer. I would like to have a few properties in the next 15 years for when I retire. Is this possible in the Navy? Any help or guidance would be greatly welcome.

I think the best way, seriously, is to read a few books. You need to know the nuts-and-bolts about the business, which ain't for the faint-hearted or those who are afraid of hard work.

You need to know how to value a mult-unit apartment complex, how to find good deals, how to identify under-performing properties, how to pick good tenants, how to evict them, how to handle the headaches without losing your mind.

The book I used was called "How I Turned $1,000 into Five Million in Real Estate in My Spare Time" by William Nickerson. I guess it's out of print but there are used copies of the book out there. It gives a good overview of how to properly value properties, etc.

Probably the only downside to that book is that the costs are about 1/10 what they are now, so you'll see houses going for $45,000 and apartments going for $10,000 a unit, which is such a joke now.

But the overall principals are still sound. I see a number of other books on Amazon.com, but I can't vouch for them.

I own several rental properties, and I got started by reading that book.

u can easily buy homes on the internet

Look for 1-4 unit properties, with a VA loan, an eligible veteran can purchase up to a four-unit building. Two veterans (both living in the building) can go up to a six-unit building. VA loans are only for owner-occupied dwellings so you have to live in one of the units, (not forever) and since you are deployed it still counts as your primary residence.

Get with a good broker and crunch the numbers to see if it makes sense and if you can achieve a positive cash flow.