@Yakima L coles you definitely want to skip trace the owner and call them.There's no telling what's going on with the owner or why the property is vacant, but I wouldn't be shocked if you skip traced them and found out the owner had died.  

Try a skip trace service. 

Let's say you did a Credit Check which was not good, but the tenant claims it's from an event like a divorce or student loans or a hack.The next thing I do is an Eviction and Criminal Background check and a Bank Statement Check to make sure that the prospective tenant is not pulling the wool over my eyes.Imagine that the prospective tenant has a rap sheet pages long and you decided that he looked honest enough and let him in.There are so many horror stories of bad tenants and yet I see posting from new Landlords all the time skipping a FULL due diligence Again and Again!

Not only are you going to accumulate school loan debt, but you're also going to sacrifice the earning capacity of the years you spend in school.If I had it to do over, I'd have skipped college altogether.

I also host/produce a quickly growing podcast called Go Rent Skip where we recommend what movies are worth the theater, renting, or skipping.I could possibly exchange advertising space on the show in exchange for advice/mentorship.Thanks and I’m looking forward to getting started!

Yes Kayla I am very familiar with amortization schedules....it’s just that you won’t eliminate 14 years with $2400.The reason you eliminate years is because when you make extra principle pmts you “skip ahead” in the amortization schedule.

Skip to cliff notes for shorten version, numbers, and main question if you don't feel like reading a long post. 

I would focus on repairing your credit. see a specialist (faster) or open credit cards little by little and pay them off each month. im not saying increase your spending, just saying instead of buying that tank of gas in cash use a cc and immediately pay it off. while your credit is repairing, start banking cash. build a budget and stick to it. 80K a year is good money, make it a goal of yours to retain as much of it as possible i.e. don't eat out, don't go to the local pub, drive a modest paid off car etc. once your credit is up and savings is up, use the 80k a year plus savings to get leverage. then use that leverage to buy your properties. if your looking for a get rich quick scheme, id advise u skip over RE. don't get me wrong, you can make money fast by flipping homes but you didn't mention having experience in that area so I assume you don't. another option if your really in a hurry is to find a partner with experience and cash, and see if you can buy into one of his/hers deals. you would have to market yourself for this and see what type of skills they may need that you have. maybe you can buy in and use your web development skills to beef up and/or maintain your partners website saving them money on outsourcing. that might be your ticket into a partnership. since you mentioned your helping your friend, maybe you can partner with him?

We make sure to be thorough and not skip any of these steps and it has worked out well for us. 

It would be nice to skip posts I’ve already read until a new reply is posted.