Even if you plan to self-manage, having a solid property management contact early on is always a good move.

I have a friend/neighbor that wants to sell me his house below market value so he can move back into an apartment and travel.

How will appraisals work if the property is not even close to move-in ready?!

Texas notched another technology win this week when Apple said it is planning a new 250,000-square-foot factory in Houston to make servers for an artificial-intelligence system.Tech investments are transforming the Texas economy, often via companies from California in search of lower taxes and fewer regulations on land use and labor.https://www.wsj.com/business/texas-tech-industry-move-26f9e7...

When they move out and i paint over the spackle repairs it is usually undetectable. 

Make your FIRST move and do that well, then make the next move and the next move.

I grew up in RI but moved to Boston for college and have been in the Boston area for 15 years.

We just moved from PA last year. 

If you want to game the system a little, you could move in for a couple of months while you fix it up a little and then move back with your parents.

Take calculated moves forward and your efforts will compound!