Here in Colorado, you need to have a real estate license, and in order to get your license you need to go through what basically amounts to an apprenticeship for two years (associate), before you can have your own firm.  

When picking a market, I would look for things like population and job growth, rental demand, and economic diversity—basically, is the area attracting people and businesses?

OK so basically you were a bird dog and then a contractor for them.

Transaction volume is basically non-existent.

And all the deals I do the exit on a fully rehabbed home that I fund and pay for the rehab etc for my clients. is basically 250 and under .. there is not an issue with affordability in much of the US the issue is buyers preferences.

You basically have high growth and low cash flow Columbus OR decent growth and solid cash flow of Cleveland, Dayton, and Cincinnati. 

So your super basic P&L may look like: $30,000 Rents-$3,000 insurance expense -$9,000 interest-$3,000 taxes-$8,000 operating expenses-$14,000 depreciation ----------------$7,000 loss on paper for the year  so negative taxable income But remember- $14k of that (depreciation) was something we didn't actually spend money on- so cash in bank at year end would be $7,000. 

Check passive loss rulesTrack carryforwardsMost small landlords will simply:Take the simplified $5/sq ft deductionClaim it if they have net rental incomeSkip it if they're already showing lossesPro Tips: 💪Use the simplified method - it's $1,500 max (300 sq ft × $5)If you're showing profits, take itIf you're showing losses, don't botherKeep basic photos/documentation of your spaceThe Bottom Line: 💰If you're making money on your rentals and genuinely use a home office, this is a nice extra deduction.

So basically, if you talk to 10 Realtors this year, 9 of them won't be Realtors next year.

Basically they often are added by people who do not do thorough and accurate underwriting.