Study the market.

Unfortunately there competitiveness in the market and cut throat antics give the other offices (company) a bad name. 

I’m planning to move what I have in stock market ($2.5-3Mil) to buy a good realestate.

Renting to a friend can complicate things, especially if you're starting below market rent.

Usually turnkey operators suck the equity out of a deal and sell at or above market so there goes the equity. 

We don't want to bring on every owner or every property unless they fit within our target market, so, I do the far majority of the sales - this is our check and balance.

The Japanese market is different in that it is a high yield cash flow market, non speculative investing.

Hey @Tom Dieringer, so the Expedia Group has a market cap of 21+ billion so I wouldn't worry too much about them.

If you want to network or ask specific questions about your local market, go to your local real estate forum and connect with investors from your area: https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/86-local-real-estate-networking5.

@Angel Mora which market are you in?