@Matt Owens - I've used the HELOC route to expand my portfolio and it has been extremely effective.

It would be an extreme high/low strategy.

I have been extremely satisfied with the way all the deals have progressed so far.  

The number of subto deals is extremely low (far less than 1%). 

I also invest locally here in Columbus and Dayton and have been cold-calling a ton of commercial locations for my investors.

So it's just extremely unlikely that you'll be able to generate a return that would justify paying the taxes in 1 or offsetting the interest you'd pay in 3.If you save up and buy a traditional LTR at or above the median price, you'll likely be break even or negative. 

Go to Etsy and search for "rental property tracker," and you will find hundreds of nice spreadsheets to track 10-20 rentals, usually for under $10.Software has extremely helpful features like online payments, marketing syndication (click a button, and your property is advertised on multiple sites), electronic document review/signing, maintenance tracking, and owner reports.

Eg if they complain it is cold in winter, but are walking around with short sleeves and no socks, then that's on them. 

Extremely knowledgable and no pie in the sky fluff.

the biggest indication of a investor failing in real estate is not having enough reserves to get through the rainy seasons of the investment where as people who can get through over a long period of time do extremely well.