thanksRyan  @Ryan RuppertShopify is a great platform for e-commerce, but it might not be the best fit for managing STRs in the long term.

I've heard of people doing this, but you need to be rehabbing it enough to make it higher value so ideally you need to be purchasing something that needs some rehab so that you can increase the equity because otherwise you're not gonna have enough equity to pull out

Do you have an ideal type of and location within TX/Dallas for a flip?

Ideally, it would be nice to have both types of Investments.  

I highly encourage everyone to view the property before putting money down, but that's not ideal for many of them, so I do allow them to rent "sight unseen," but I am very open with them to ensure they don't show up and back out.1.

However, I would encourage you to Network work local real estate clubs in the PA/NJ area to help identify your target market and ideal investment for your first property.

It wasn’t ideal, but it was the only way to keep the deal alive.I made the drive to her small town, met her at a local bank, and had the paperwork notarized.

I would try to find an agent with investor experience and, ideally, a focus on investment properties. 

Theres so many problems, this is a team deal scenario and one needs rules;  never take a contract less then 7 days prior to the auction, and NEVER NEVER N E V E R close allowing the seller to stay in the house after closing. 

ANDAt least 5% ownerYou might want to check out this thread with sample REPS Log / Activity tracker that meets IRS guidelines https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/51/topics/816680-real-e...