I also checked out the meeting you organize- I love the charging  a token amount that both buys the group pizza and weeds out the people who RSVP impulsively but never show up- something I'll keep in mind for a meeting I might try to arrange in the future.

Most investors start with "house hacking", getting a 2-4plex and then renting out the other units and owner-occupy one of them.yes, buying and renting out property is a wise idea as long as you rent to good tenants and charge them sufficient rents to justify the cost of owning the property.

Most of the time a 5-10 year amortization the property will not cash flow after debt unless the loan to value is sufficiently low, which most borrowers are not looking for.

If you want anything to go towards paying the balance down, you have to pay extra.But really this is a sufficiently basic question that you should be asking your lender. :)

From there, let the net income build until you have sufficient cash flow to buy another property, or sell them all to buy a small multi-family or something else.But you just have to run the numbers based on what your current properties are renting for, what your payments are, etc., and what you think you can buy additional property for. 

Upon further though I decided to wait to increase rents until I had improved the property more sufficiently.

The truth is, you can list this with a $50k price drop and then have a flood of buyers (assuming the buyers pool is sufficient in that area) bidding it up to where it should sell at.

You can always quit in the future but do not make choices based on that plan.You can not get ahead without working for a income.By the same token you can not live at home and while you are there you need to be paying your parents rent.

Except as provided in Section 9-206 of this Act, in all cases of tenancy from year to year, 60 days' notice, in writing, shall be sufficient to terminate the tenancy at the end of the year. 

@Chris Sukala If this is a foreclosure auction with the county you will be receiving a Certificate of Title which should be sufficient to prove you are the new owners.