If you can't, then real estate is not for you in my opinion.  

At a minimum, they'll want a Broker Price Opinion (BPO) or a full appraisal to understand the value of the house.

Plenty of people have lost all their investment trusting someone elses opinions, buying properties rented to fake tenants with no record.

@Andrew Faukner  Disclosure: I no longer practice tax accounting, so this is just my opinion. 

But in my opinion, the most important quality is finding one who is ambitious, and out there aggressively trying to grow his business. 

Are you recommending adding a third bedroom solely based off adding value or your experience/opinion in renting 2 beds versus 3 in that area?

I'm just starting out and I'm looking for some opinions from experienced investors -Q: I have $40k to invest (can pull out as a 401k loan), should I invest this now or wait a year when I'll have a total of $80k to invest with? 

In my opinion, the 'deals' are off-market, and require some creativity in order to justify, so I'd start looking there.

Thanks again everyone for your ideas, opinions and willingness to share your experiences and knowledge with us.

Interested in getting opinions?