The irony is that the inverse group in investors (those investing in Memphis, Akron, etc. for W2-replacing cash-flow have seldom gone through the inevitable bad tenant.  

So even using "other people's money" is seldom as "free" as radio ads would like you to think.  

Variances very seldom work for density.

Make sure that your travel records are in good shape.You will make a major mistake if you wait until after the initial interview to learn the rules.The hours you spend as an investor reading reports and otherwise monitoring operations does not count for material participation purposes UNLESS you are directly involved in day-to-day management or operations.The IRS has learned that taxpayers seldom study the rules until after the initial interview, meaning that poorly informed taxpayers admit much in the first interview and then pathetically try to change their stories after they learn the rules (this is usually too little, too late).Goal here is to educate you, not overwhelm you.

I used to charge $49.00 for a half hour of troubleshooting and seldom ever needed more time than that .

We virtually always have a qualified tenant resulting from the initial open house, but we seldom have more than a few qualified tenants from the original open house and we always have significant initial interest (20 to 40 inquiries).BTW no matter how much a potential tenant states they like the rental, if we do not get a completed application on the spot we have less than 20% chance of getting the completed application. 

I seldom put inspection contingencies in, because I have management go over the place with a fine-toothed comb at the first showing- so I usually know what the problems are.

Leverage is seldom a problem provided you by right and assuming you are not investing in SFHs.

One of my favorite quotes by Jim Rohn is, "Your level of success will seldom exceed your level of personal development". 

One of my favorite quotes by Jim Rohn is, "Your level of success will seldom exceed your level of personal development".If I was coaching my younger self, this is what I would recommend: Read Brandon Turner's book on Rental Property Investing https://www.amazon.com/Book-Rental-Property-Investing-Passive-ebook/dp/B018UTI2DOListening to the BP Real Estate podcast https://www.biggerpockets.com/podcastListening to the BP money podcast https://www.biggerpockets.com/moneyshowAttend your local REIA meetings to networkStart analyzing deals to get practiceEngage more on the BP forumsAll the best!