I am interested in purchasing a couple rental houses for income. It seems to be hard for me to take the plunge. I have bought several houses thru the years to live in, but never really paid much attention the details of the process, I just sort of followed along. I am trying to decide if I want to hook up with an agent or do it on my own. I really want to do ti on my own, and have been trying to read up and understand the process in detail.

I have my eye on a property in foreclosure, have not actually looked at it, but looks like a good deal from what I can see on the outside.

My thought process is to find a good deal, buy it and pay it off as soon as I can. I don't need the income right now, so I would hold back maintenance costs and just pay off the mortage ASAP. When it is paid out (or close to it), buy a second one. I am looking to buy 4-6 and just use for retirement income. I think a lot of people want to leverage debt, but I am not looking for immediate income, I am in it for the long haul.

Trying to decide to just go to local lender or use an online mortage company to get prequalified for a loan, this should just be a formaility, but I guess I need to do that before looking at anything.

Have enjoyed reading the posts and am open to suggestions, and especially good reference materials