I have one tenant who is a god send compared to most, he accomplishes nearly ever repair I need, even did an HVAC unit. 

I'm out West at the moment, but will probably be returning to Tokyo before too much longer.At the risk of being contrarian, after picking up a couple of investment properties in Japan (one Tokyo, one outskirts), I shifted to a strategy of only investing in the US. 

Ask your employer if you can have your pay split up into three deposits, one to investments savings, one to your checking account for personal use on a daily basis, and one to an emergency account you can tap into so you don't have to tap into your investment savings.

I had no exposure to this group but recently heard one of their principals on this podcast.

Are you persistent enough, dedicated enough and sometimes just stubborn enough to be the first one in and last one out of the 'gym'?

One thing I wish I knew starting out was the true overhead of running a RE business it can be pricey if you don't run your numbers right.

One note on this @Jenny Yu. 

Yes, that's one of the motivations that bring us to BP we want to start with the right foot!  

He also told me he probably wants to re-negotiate the balloon payment because he doesn't want the bulk of the capital gains all in one year.

I negotiate at 70% ARV so the deals I bring are solid and I'd love to work with one single corporate cash buyer that is able to close  on several deals a month.