Therefore be sure you have professionals looking over your deals and operations as the costs go up considerably once you make a mistake. 

@Michael SheaRecommend exploring as many sources as possible to get referrals AND cross-reference them to get as much accurate information as possible.Check out NARPM.com, BP’s Property Manager Finder, etc.Also, encourage you to learn from the mistakes of others - by reading posts here on BiggerPockets about owners not having their expectations met by their current Property Management Company.

I'm losing money on the front end, but hopefully I learn from this, and can avoid similar mistakes in the future.Thank you again, and I will be around the forums reading/lurking. 

This book caused a big paradigm shift in how I view human error and mistakes by humans entirely!

@Jake LangleyRecommend exploring as many sources as possible to get referrals AND cross-reference them to get as much accurate information as possible.Check out NARPM.com, BP’s Property Manager Finder, etc.Also, encourage you to learn from the mistakes of others - by reading posts here on BiggerPockets about owners not having their expectations met by their current Property Management Company.

I remember when I got out of college and started with a bank, my learning curve was steep and I made a lot of mistakes.

The most common mistake, bar none, is to subtract the purchase price from the ARV, see a big number, and assume a huge profit.

Since you are living there, it should be much easier to set up showings rather than a traditional rental traveling to the property.The biggest mistake I have made, and seen other makes, is loosening their guidelines after a few weeks/months of vacancy because they have simply had enough. 

You can hear real-world examples of how others have built their investment portfolio and (hopefully) learn to avoid their mistakes.4.

I had no help what's so ever but I learned from my past mistakes and Ill try again and get more info.