I'm more interested in purchasing 10 homes to have fully paid off by the time I retire, as I'm not living on the cash flow w/ current job. 

We do live an hour away from these properties and have W2 jobs.

New builds, new developments, plenty of rentals within driving distance of the city center, and there are still plenty of areas where a good eye for a rehab job will get you a good ROI.

Conventional financing is a great option to get started if you have a W2 job or easily verifiable income and you're financing a 1-4 unit property.

The market is soft now, but with the new administration, we are going to see a lot more jobs coming in.

Also, focus on 2 years of job/income stability.Class D Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, all cashflow with little, maybe even negative, relative rent & value appreciationVacancy Est: 20%+ should be used to cover nonpayment, evictions & damages.Tenant Pool: majority will have FICO scores under 560 (almost 30% probability of default), little to no good tradelines, lots of collections & chargeoffs, recent evictions.

Also, focus on 2 years of job/income stability.Class D Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, all cashflow with little, maybe even negative, relative rent & value appreciationVacancy Est: 20%+ should be used to cover nonpayment, evictions & damages.Tenant Pool: majority will have FICO scores under 560 (almost 30% probability of default), little to no good tradelines, lots of collections & chargeoffs, recent evictions.

The vast majority of contractors won't want to give bids on properties while under contract unless they have a relationship with that person from prior jobs.

First of all, amazing job!

In return, they will be motivated to get a job and pay back every dime owed while lavishing you with praise.