Anyone trying to tell you a certain asset class is good or bad these days is probably trying to sell you something.

@Martti Eckert here's the big issue that no one really talks about that you hopefully find helpful (this is copy & pasted):-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Recommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?

I am in Macoupin County, IL very different than Cook County, IL.

@Jack Cottrell You Vacancy & Maintenance percentage are aggressive and may only work for a Class A rental/tenant.If the is a Class B or C rental that will attract Class B or C tenants, you should strongly consider increasing those percentages.NOTE: we deal with a LOT of Class B & C rentals, so we replace "Vacancy" with "Vacancy/Tenant Nonperformance".

@Urvesh Patel recommend you focus on Neighborhoods, NOT zip codes.Zip codes are too big and in urban areas, often include Class B, C & D Neighborhoods.For MTR you'll want to focus on Class B, no lower than C+.

Other than the classes I am running for the hills!

Take pics of all the junk (I mean high class heirlooms, which is what you'll say in the ad) and put it on craigslist asking for offers.

Quote from @Josh Ball: Quote from @Jonathan Greene: Smokers aren't a protected class, but they could argue that whatever the underlying "medical" issue for the card could be part of one.

I have no idea why folks spend a ton of hard earned money on these "guru"  classes.

@Chris Mahoo many new investors don't take the time to properly understand RE investing.1) Many are using approaches from 2010-2018 when Class A property prices were so low from the Great RE Crash that an investor could cashflow and get pretty easy Class A tenants to manage.2) If you look at what investors were doing before 2008-2010, most were buying Class B & C rentals.To make it worth while, an investor either needs to Fix & Flip or invest & hold rentals for 10+ years.- Over a 10 year period cashflow will increase as rents increase (rents typically rise faster than property taxes, insurance, etc.)- The property should be appreciating, if purchased in a good location, increasing the owner's equity/wealth.- Rents will be paying the mortgage off, increasing the owner's equity/wealth.- If you hold a rental until death, you can pass it on with a stepped-up cost basis, limiting captial gains if then sold (limited by inheritance tax limitations).Too many newbies on this site trying to replace their day job income via "passive" real estate investing w/o digging deep enough to understand how it really works.