I'm mostly interested in buy/hold 2-4 units to create cashflow. however I'm not sure what city to start. at first i was strong on Troy NY but after doing some research i realized it has a lot of vacancies, old abandoned buildings, and lack of jobs. i was also interested in Schenectady NY because of the casino but I'm not sure if i want to bank on that for the a city's financial future.

I'm doubtful many lenders will see you as a shiny object that is excited but rather an overly enthusiastic newbie who likely won't do anything. 

So the moral is if you wanna take a billion dollars in taxable losses, go buy a few billion dollars worth of casinos, then totally screw up their operations(by the way- when Trump's casinos went belly up, the neighboring casinos were doing just fine,) close 'em down- causing massive job losses- then get a reality TV show which pays pretty well, and you won't owe money on those earnings for quite awhile. 

With the amount of knowledge this community of real estate enthusiasts has to offer, I was hoping to get some insight from those with any experience in this.

In the past, I did a few rehab rentals in Elgin and they had a program with the city (dollar for dollar match) as part of the Casino incentives.  

I got nervous about sending that large of wire so I flew up from my Vegas home this morning to PDX to hand deliver a cashiers check.Keep in mind I have the 4 acre parcel right across from the Graton casino.. happy to sell it to you ..  3 mil its yours LOLI have only owned it for 25 years now..

Especially considering your only other lodging options are smokey casinos or run down motels.I also don’t buy the “there’s always huge crazy parties going on” excuse often given by residents in these cases.

George as well, but my wife isn't enthusiastic about the rocks vs. trees kind of area.Well, things aren't better for me as a buyer now vs. 1.5 years ago that's for sure. 

Fellow BP Podcast enthusiast here!  

@Brad MyliusGetting licensed is a great start, you’ll get a fantastic education in the Real Estate transaction process, you’ll meet a lot of Real Estate enthusiasts, and you’ll get access to all the houses on your MLS.