I am observing my first foreclosure auction on Tuesday.  

Irregardless of whether the tenant(s) are responsible for all maintenance, it should still have a 3rd party observer to watch for signs of neglect.

From what I've experienced and observed, water is the biggest source of damage to a home.

There is no right or wrong here, just what is best for you and your family.So I'll share a few observations I have on the topic:Retirement on a military pension is possible.

Hi @Cliff Jackson...I am also a newbie from collegeville area and in fact this is my first post and/or reply to a post after I found this site couple of months back..I have to admit that I have been a silent observer on this website reading various forums etc in my spare time at night with my full time job 9-6 and another full time job with two lill ones at home 6-10 :)....apparently my keyword search with 'collegeville' brought my attention to this post..good to see someone local with common interests and background..my goal is also to have my first investment property by the end of this year and in fact I joined a local investment group last month...just attended one meeting so far..but was impressed with the kind of folks who come there and certainly a great place to start networking..here is the website if you are interested ..http://digonline.org/If you end up joining, might as well meet there...Other confession - Ever since I started reading about real estate investment, I have been overwhelmed with the info out there and now I am thinking that I need more education than I previously thought (even if I know more than what I knew after I started reading since last 2-3 months)....but I am sure we as newbies will get somewhere if we are persistent enough in our efforts...So GOOD LUCK to you!!

They are getting scooped up, mostly by Austin investors (empirical observation from investors I've talked to and worked with) getting driven out of Austin by the skyrocketing prices.Hit me up if you have any questions about the local market.

Cheap rentals require cheap repairs.One interesting thing I just observed is that over a 20 year period on a sfr my monthly cost for maintenance, cleaning, repairs and capex were $171 pm while a duplex during the same time had a monthly of $195; only $24 higher for the extra unit.The big thing though is that the sfr has appreciated at twice the rate as the duplex.

Not intuitive to the casual observer.

general observations:65k for the items listed is way, way too much. even with the kitchen/bath, i think it's crazy.once you sense there is something going on, you have to let him go. dont jump the gun, but let him go first chance you have.he might put a lien on the house, so be careful there.good luck.

@Kristen WallJust my personal opinion : It was not the local REIA club, but biggerpockets networkingFYI - Local REIA clubs here our great place to network and learnHands on learning :~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~I have not mention anything to Dawn yet, but I have communicatedwith a few local biggerpockets members here regarding what I have observed as great team work.Through biggerpockets : I believe here in Milwaukee / Waukesha counties a great team could be assembly between Kay, Orlando, Brian, and possibly Dawn.