The market is diverse enough to do well on flips, and fantastic for rentals.There are neighborhoods that are severely depressed, so you need to be understand where you are buying.Flipping is primarily a local activity, so you really need to focus on your backyard for that.

@Dev Horn If I could vote for your post twice, I would, that was fantastic!

Fantastic Ellis, look forward to chatting with you.

I'll also be retiring from the military so will have a small income stream and low cost health care to reduce some of my risks.Thanks to all those who post on the forum for your inspiration and specifically to the BP Podcast for tons of fantastic ideas and to J Scott who's sample plans I've studied while drafting my own plan.

Build your foundation below.Check out the Start Here page http://www.biggerpockets.com/starthereCheck out BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginner's Guide - A fantastic free book that walks through many of the key topics of real estate investing.Check out the free BiggerPockets Podcast - A weekly podcast with interviews and a ton of great advice.

Grerat time and area to start.Check out the Start Here page http://www.biggerpockets.com/starthereCheck out BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginner's Guide - A fantastic free book that walks through many of the key topics of real estate investing.Check out the free BiggerPockets Podcast - A weekly podcast with interviews and a ton of great advice.

I look forward to future posts about it.Check out the Start Here page http://www.biggerpockets.com/starthereCheck out BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginner's Guide - A fantastic free book that walks through many of the key topics of real estate investing.Check out the free BiggerPockets Podcast - A weekly podcast with interviews and a ton of great advice.

Check out the Start Here page http://www.biggerpockets.com/starthere Check out BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginner's Guide - A fantastic free book that walks through many of the key topics of real estate investing.

At some level are you just trading one income vehicle for another with the added bonus that you get the asset back (albeit there is a risk if the property gets trashed due to bad management) if the lender flakes out (and of course the hassle of calling the note).Hopefully some of the experienced private money lenders will jump in on this one, as it is a fantastic question.

Don't forget to complete your profile.Check out the Start Here page http://www.biggerpockets.com/starthereCheck out BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginner's Guide - A fantastic free book that walks through many of the key topics of real estate investing.Check out the free BiggerPockets Podcast - A weekly podcast with interviews and a ton of great advice.