Opportunity Zones are a new community development program established by Congress in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 to encourage long-term investments in low-income urban and rural communities nationwide.The program was created by Sean Parker, founder of Napster and President at Facebook. 

Very often I meet real estate investors who chose to go with a $200 tax return filing accountant who costed them thousands and tens of thousands of dollars in mistakes like miscalculated depreciation, missed deductions, miscalculation of capital gains when selling the property and so on.I understand you don't want accounting fees to eat all of your profits, but I simply encourage to factor what you're getting from your accountant, weigh it against the price and find the combination that works for you.

I really encourage you to have faith in your abilities and if you find areas you'd like to improve in then pursue guidance but I'm excited for your first deal, don't let yourself keep you from making the future you want!

Good loans for people who don't fit the Fannie/Freddie mold.I know that is a lot of information so feel free to tag me with any questions.For any future investors who would read this post I would encourage everyone to be prequalified ahead of time. 

@Greg Raymond If real estate is your passion, you are better off spending time with people who will reinforce and encourage you in the right direction.

@Frank Previte Thank you for the advice and encouragement!

I'd encourage you to think about Des Moines as a possible investment target but I'd also encourage you to think about it as a lot more than that. 

 I would encourage you to begin putting together a personal database of everyone you currently know. 

Some of my tenants use Cozy which i encourage on an auto payment. it automaticly adds a late fee if they are late, I make it available for everyone but not everyone uses it.

You want to inflict a level of pain for them to continue to occupy *your* house once you've sold it that will encourage them to go - unless, of course, the objective is to maintain them as a long-term tenant.