Unfortunately cap ex usually catches up to them and the appraised value rarely translates to a similar sale experience and all along the property has merely been a highly levered property.

I have sold a couple of businesses as well, and speaking from experience, you are never more vulnerable to make a mistake than when you are sitting on a giant pile of cash.Also, I agree with @Corey Conklin - I'm a big fan of "overflow cities/towns" in the sun belt.

Quote from @Sherylyn Holden: I posted awhile back about the new short term rental rules in San Antonio here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/530/topics/1200417-new-...Wanted to share a brief update on my experience and some other helpful notes:The city is getting serious about these rules.

Does anyone have personal experience with specific scrutiny of a logbook during an audit?

It might be best to hold off until you hear of other BP members who have experience with them. 

Our strategy is to buy out of shape properties and rehab them back into shape, so a GC with experience in doing extensive renovations at once would be preferred.

This has nothing to do with real estate experience. 

experience: I’m on my 3rd flipage: early 40sday job: brand and web design/development retirement savings: noneI want to learn about buy and hold to secure having SOMETHING for retirement!

To avoid going through the same poor experience, keep reading.Even if someone gives you a referral here, do NOT make the mistake of assuming that the PMC will meet your expectations, just because they met the expectations of the referral source.In our experience, the #1 mistake owners make when selecting a Property Management Company (PMC) is ASSUMING instead of CONFIRMING.It's often a case of not doing enough research, as they don't know what they don't know!

You don't need to know everything to get started; you need a foundation to build on, and the rest will come through experience and then refining your education.You can build a basic understanding of investing in 3-6 months.