Decision time on first purchase!

[Chris Banman]

Hi All,

I am new to the forum and looking for some of your valued feedback.  Last week I closed on the sale of a rural 40 acre piece that I owned outright and have the money in a 1031 exchange.  The clock is now ticking.  I sold the farm as it gave me only a place to play, but no passive income, but it did appreciate very well.  I now wish to get into some rental houses both for cash-flow and appreciation.  I feel like I am in a good market for this, in the KC area.  My options on what to do next is do I go it alone, buy a decent house, and manage it myself or use an established turnkey/PM with a good reputation in the area? I am relatively handy but also work full time and have 3 kids. We are a busy family right now.  I'm very frugal and don't really like to spend money on perks, but also don't have time to deal with a lot of hassle with tenants.  To those of you that manage your own properties, how much work is it really to keep a tenant happy, collect the rent and keep the house operating well?  Is the price charged to get a tenant in the property and the 9ish% to manage the property money well spent?  Depending on the neighborhood, with the 1031 money, I'll likely use it to pay cash or about 70% of the house price to get started.  So the other big question is do I shoot for the best neighborhood with the best schools, really banking more on appreciation or go for a slightly less desirable area with better cash flow potential?  FWIW, I would like to end up with 2 properties by the end of 2019 and see where things go for there.  Thanks for your feedback on this!