•Explore partnering with wholesalers and real estate agents who bring you off-market deals.5.Continue Building Credit:•As your properties generate income, pay down your credit lines strategically to maintain high credit limits and low utilization.

He started with me just after retirement and I recommend you look for a handyman who is retired because they are typically less expensive and as my guy likes to say, every day is a Saturday and that means they can get repairs done quickly.

At the current price, adding the additional lots would make them about $30,000 per lot, depending on the price of the additional utilities that need to be added. 

Ensure utilities are back in your name.

That means if you could get $6,250/mo, have zero repairs, zero maintenance, zero capex, zero vacancy, provide zero lawn/snow/landscaping, pay zero utilities, and pay zero management.

I understand the first parts where creating a win-win deal is key, I just can't seem to find what happens  When it comes to closing real estate transactions, there are basically three ways to do it: (1) do it yourself (2) utilize real estate attorney or (3) utilize title co.  

My wife and I used to do flips in this area, and I have a couple listings along with long term rentals I manage in the area..For the co-host, they typically do not handle permitting and other items like that (this can be agreed upon between you and the co-host.

@Elizabeth Ross - make sure you are familiar with South Bend - houses for under 100k in South Bend can typically be in pretty rough neighborhoods, so be sure to do your due diligence. 

You cannot use rental income above your mortgage payment to help qualify for a larger mortgage, but you can utilize 100% of the lease income to offset so that should help you qualify for more of a mortgage. 

There's no one size fits all approach to real estate investing and depending on your resources, skill set, and capabilities you may excel in one particular market or utilizing a specific strategy whereas another investor will excel using a different approach.