But some compensation would be appropriate, but its a spectrum from Amazon gift card to a couple thousand cash (tax free...

He was with Spectrum for property management and they just advised him that the tenant that just vacated has done major damage to the property, floors are bare concrete and nicely stained from animal feces and urine, other assorted things in the home are broken/in need of repair.

I'm really leaning forward with a master's program but may look to pursue a study that will incorporate broader spectrum like @Joel Allen has decided with his MBA.  

so... you just got advice on two strategies that are at the complete opposite ends of the RE spectrum. =)this is going to come down to your goals.

After that if you have more funds to invest is when I would look in a different area if you want something that cashflows better, but then again your current market will likely make you way more in appreciation 5-10 years from now than other markets, so you'll have to determine where you want to be on the cashflow-appreciation spectrum

And I am on the younger side of the spectrum (currently 22) and have no problem moving back home to be able to fully rent the building and cashflow to really accelerate the wealth building pace!  

Gross rents don't tell you much without expenses.I used $4500/unit expenses which is on a lower end of spectrum for C class.

I can see there is definitely a large spectrum of opinions on this issue.

On the other end of the spectrum, I would just as soon flush $100k down the toilet then to try to invest it out of state for cash flow, as that has proven to be a complete PITA disaster. 

I've only been investing in real estate for little over a year now and the impression I've got is like you said, it's a tough business from any end of the spectrum that you're on.I still have the excitement and mindset that I want to buy more and grow our portfolio but I also don't have desire at this point to grow above 10 properties or so.