And communications from REI is far above the industry average that I can tell you.SFR rentals are not a get rich quick or cash flow to live off of.

Rodrigues' recommendation may change this), but my next question would be, are there any cities/markets where 1 of the following are true: 1) You have family/friends that live there, 2) You travel there frequently (either for vacation, work, etc.), or 3) Somewhere else you've lived before AND know the area well?

I know when you buy a foreclosure in Oregon and you intend to live in it you can evict.

I flipped and did some buy and hold when I lived in Florida.   

Use tools like the VA loan for house hacking and your Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) to cover living costs while building equity.

I don't know your living situation but if your paying x,xxx for rent or a mortgage and instead by living in one side and renting out the other you will be paying y,yyy instead and y is less then x that's great, especially if you can rent out your primary residence and make income there too. 

HiWhen we started out we bought a multi family property and lived in 1 unit.  

well if I ever make it to the Smokies to see what the draw is  I will rent a condo then :)  I am just guess but I suspect folks that go there want to be in the woods and hear the birds and maybe some local mtn views etc.. or some sort of privacy they never get at home out east were there is not very much public lands close to where they live in the big city. ????

Though if an individual were paying for her or himself, I’d say go with the home-study version for a fraction of the costs of the live seminar….

Once you take over a property as an owner occupant, if it is a single family or condo you can live in it for 1 year and that automatically exempts your unit from rent control.