For the last 15 years I have been answering questions from unknowledgeable wanna be investors who watched a guru on YouTube and now wants to know where to get the earnest money to tie up multi million dollar properties before he can flip them for $200,000 profits.  

People like good stories and all you have to do is watch the news or social media to see that people like to exaggerate or focus on the problems.  

I know a lot of people think they can watch YouTube videos, spend time with Real Estate professionals and network, and they can get started investing in Real Estate.

Ladies and Gentlemen, reviving this old thread.

Financial Peace UniversityI am a 2X student of Financial Peace University and I have sat through the class and watched the videos.

There is a lady in another topic asking how can you understand the numbers for a flip and how much stuff will cost.

You will not watch the money and payouts and bookings and end up losing more hiring a big firm to do what should only be done by local hosts.

If you do rent by the room watch out for local unrelated person ordinances.

Simplified example: if all assessments would exactly double, individual property taxes would stay exactly the same.Milwaukee is currently the 2nd most competitive market for renters in the US, you can watch a video on current Milwaukee rent increases here. 

You said you live in Austin, no better way to learn than directly so, there is a syndication group Viking Capital LLC, that is buying/raising for a 252 unit property in NewBraunfels, about 45 min south of Austin, watch their webinar at their website below and they have an 82 pg slide show as well, then take a 3 hour trip to go see it, walk the property, go into office ask about the units available/leasing how the market is from the office staff, look around for quality of property/deferred maintenace needed then drive the area for other competitor properties.