Don't do what a friend did and buy as many crappy properties as quickly as possible. 

After purchase the assessment office was given the survey and quickly reduced the acreage for taxation to 1.8 acres also. 

If they are professional, they can explain this quickly and easily.

This is where real estate investing turns into a great area and on paper investment strategies seem great, but when applying them to reality, things can quickly change.

No way he could have grown his rental business that quick or developed scale, by buying his own properties.  

The list is a nationwide list the Miami-Fort-Lauderdale area made number 2 on the list Orlando was ranked 6 on the nation wide list, so judging by the post I think it would be safe to assume Florida is one of the best states for fix-n-flips. 

It is a very safe town.

However, poor operations, poor financial assumptions, poor finance structure, or a combination thereof can quickly turn a great deal on paper from hero to zero.

Are you scaling quickly or focusing on steady, long-term growth?

A prudent investor doesn't seek quick riches through shortcuts.