Just make sure to vet them carefully.Overall, my advice is to keep things simple for your first deal.

You’re pulling money from a long-term compounding vehicle to fund a potentially higher-risk asset.

If you have a solid deal in the Finger Lakes (which you have said has high equity growth), keep the bird in the hand. 3.

It is a new construction where they will not reduce the price in lieu of broker commission to keep their comps high.

I’m committed to keeping my options open and continuing to learn about being a landlord to ensure I’m well-prepared for my first purchase.To improve my ability to analyze deals, I’ve developed a two-part plan:Join a local BP meet-up group to discuss my goals and support others.Continue learning and engaging with the BP forum.Thank you again for your guidance—it’s truly appreciated!

I'm in Los Angeles, so keep in mind it may vary by market.

A self-directed IRA could be a good way to defer taxes, but there are some rules to keep in mind—like keeping all the income in the IRA until retirement.

That’s great advice Taz, I’m currently working on saving enough money to get started, house hacking is hard for me at the moment because I just bought a house 2 years ago, I would have to sell my house(which is in a great neighborhood great location) and use that money to fund the duplex which isn’t totally out of the question, I would like to keep the house if possible but also would like to get real estate investing more.

Basically - I want a PM who keeps the property in good shape and occupied to get paid, and a PM who is either bad at maintaining properties and finding good tenants, or just really unlucky, to not get paid.- PM charges 8% of rent, which escalates to 10% if the property exceeds 95% occupancy with rent collection. - PM charges minimal fees.- PM is contractually obligated to perform annual maintenance/inspection to keep property in top shape. - PM provides a cash based accounting report every month, for every unit under management, that clearly labels all rent, all expenses, including management fees, and the net directly ties to the amount of money deposited into my bank account.- PM is a licensed handyman, or has them on staff, and takes care of most unit turn work at a reasonable rate. - PM has no breakup/termination fee- PM does not take project management fees, except on large or complicated CapEx projects exceeding $5,000. 

These properties typically do not have rent growth that keeps up with inflation.