And there are real estate text books, many used in business schools, as well as building trade books, magazines, youtube videos.

Personally if you are looking to grow in real estate going the traditional method/way of getting good properties under agreement with traditional financing will get you to where you want to go faster than trying to find all the needles in a haystack.

I'm a licensed builder and have done just about everything imaginable in the construction trades. 

As far as value add there isn't any one particular method I'm partial to. 

I am open to investing elsewhere but would have to explore other acquisition methods.

This is the simplest method, but it also means your tenants are more likely to abuse the utilities by leaving windows open with the heat or A/C running, leaving lights on, ignoring the toilet that constantly flushes on its own, etc.3.

REI is filled with lots of shiny objects and you will success stories from all these different investing methods and it can be hard to stick to a path.

Write it up to an education, spend some time sharpening your support team (particularly in the trades) and start thinking about how you can do it again!

@Tyler GarzaYour "buy a new house, rent the old one, and trade up" strategy is a solid way to build wealth, but there are a few key factors to consider.

I would still like to learn more about real estate and investing as I don't like to trade my time for money.