I dated a few ladies from the local RE clubs and they let me in on a secret.

DON'T do it....we had a biology teacher rent an old SFH we acquired.She secreted in a collection of rodents, the ferrets were the most disgusting.After her 3 yr lease was up we were going to rehab the place anyway.

You can do this either by finding deals that aren't publicly available, finding "secret" information that isn't already factored into the price, or buying deals where there isn't much competition (heavily distressed properties that require a lot of work).2.

I've won the forst 3 battles....so I am optimistic- but as I am sure you, and others know, there are always negative nancy's out there who do not like risk and outside the box thinking and just cannot wrap their head around doing something 'different'.Sooooo- YES _ I am a total TX fan- for investment (and for living) ....and as far as I can tell TX is still part of the USofA- so for now investing is across state lines only (not country lines) LOL (yes that was attempt at humor)- Starting off in RE - which I like- working with buyers and moreso Sellers- but I am discovering, and it is a discovery process, but I am finding that growing my future cash flow is something I want for us...but I am 'curious' about the CT market- there are people making money up there- just different money- [they are always blown away when you tell them TX figures- shocked blown away if they have never invested out of state] ..hmmmm maybe I should keep it my little secret!

There couldn't have been a better mentor who had no secret for his success as he'd say "all it takes is money and guts and I have plenty of both", yes, he was overweight, a bit of his humor.John and his wife never had children and he adopted all of Springfield.

If you have to keep a secret, its not worth your time to deal with it.

Any sign of trouble and all the secret police are out.

There’s no secret here- the better your credit score, the lower your mortgage rate and the easier it is to piggybankfinance your dream home.

How does one tenant trying to secretly smoke pot in the laundry room one time "jeopardize the tenancy of all"? 

it depends on the asset.. if you have a prime asset that you are fairly certain will hold value appreciate or can be sold retail.. paying down mortgage may not be as important.If your buying mid range to C class or pretty much any turn key type product that cost under 100k in any market.. those that sell them will tell you and its no secret and or those who invest in them will tell you .. expect no appreciation and if so very little its all about cash flow.. well if you max leverage on those homes .. you will NEVER have any true EQUITY  because holding costs and sales cost will eat up your 20% down.. so to exit you lose money.. other than the small cash flow you have received.