I stopped paying the 1%+ and my principal finally started to decrease, significantly.My suggestion is that you ask brokers for recommendations that are in the area where you are purchasing your property and keep calling banks and save thousands of dollars you can use to invest for your next purchase.Two things:  Your broker wasn't getting rich on a 1% commission and the 1% you paid to your broker didn't keep your principal from decreasing; it was probably the cash out he got you (and at a higher LTV than the bank would lend you I might add).Banks and brokers each have a place in the lending arena.Stephanie 

Stanley - I would suggest that you go have 3-5 conversations with lenders and understand how much they are willing to lend to you given your financial situation.

If you don’t need cash flow in the near term, my suggestion is to use depreciation to defer taxable gains.

 @Samuel Diouf which neighborhoods in Columbus would you suggest looking into?

Any suggestions?  

Again, these are normally in the lower tier  neighborhoods that rarely perform on resale as their appraisal may suggest.

Thank you for the book suggestion.

2) If you ever had an FHA loan how did you go about getting into your second property with low money down3) Any suggested creative financing deals you were able to use to get first investment property?

Do you have any suggestions on the right/wrong area in Killeen?

If you are return-driven, I would suggest investing in start-up companies, like tech businesses, etc.