Such a weight off my shoulders, so much more energy and enthusiasm back for investing.

Breaking into the industry with enthusiasm and action is a fantastic start.

The 50 percent rule is an excellent starting point and should be used by a new investor to temper his or her enthusiasm and to question any sales pitch or pro forma operating expense analysis provided by the seller.With regard to Rich Weese's comments, in the Phoenix market there is a big trade-off for buying new/newer homes over older, well-located homes.

The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”Theodore Roosevelt, 1910

Hello James,Great to see your enthusiasm for out-of-state investing!

But, some may drink it out of initial enthusiasm and then spit it out once they taste it 

Thank you.MattHmmm, I don't want to dampen your enthusiasm but if the property is in Washington, what you are attempting to do may be illegal and criminal.

@Sino Usmonov, don't worry about others enthusiasm, only about your own.

If no catalyst is present to trigger the emotional desire for a seller to discount, then there is no bargain to be had.I'm not here to discourage you, merely to temper your enthusiasm and stay realistic. 

So I need to borrow a term from Larry David and curb my enthusiasm.