But then again retirement is still many, many years off for me, so I'm thinking my best strategy may be to bet on Southern California appreciation for the long haul...I don't plan to quit my job any time soon, and I'd take 1% greater average year-over-year appreciation over the next 30 years over an extra $100 per month per door by buying in the Rust Belt...decisions, decisions... 

I want to get my first Investment property under my belt this year so any advice from anyone is good advice!! 

Welcome to Bigger Pockets@Andrew Fisher, good to have you here, as a contractor, homeowner with a paid off  mortgage,  and a few rentals under your belt,  I'm sure you will have valuable insights to contribute to the forum.The most sucessfull, profitable rehabbers I know locally are also contractors. 

You'd want to make sure that the individual soliciting you for investments operates with Integrity, is Trustworthy, and has a nice list of completed projects.If you have no completed projects under your belt, bring in someone who does 

(Provisional) congratulations on getting a Contract under your belt. 

If you have any more under your belt?

I am definitely sticking to my home market for now and will possibly look at expanding once I've got a few JVs under my belt here.

Although when we started investing, we did all the work ourselves, as soon as we had 3 properties under our belts, we began hiring out the work.  

Looking to learn how to the best ways to get more properties under my belt.

Because we have some experience under our belt, our last had some major water damage under the laundry area; there had been a leak there since the house was built in 1968.