Local banks and smaller credit unions are most aggressive in this space.

I have moonlighted for several Architects and through hard work and good fortune stumbled on an opportunity to become an apprentice electrical engineer. 10 years later I am a senior engineer, together with my wife, have a decent portfolio of Real Estate.

For the first 4 loans or so, lenders are going to be less aggressive (requiring more down) than if you have several under your belt.

There are a few decent areas, but most are run down and trouble. 

that we’ve learned in our 24 years, managing almost 700 doors across the Metro Detroit area, including almost 100 S8 leases:Class A Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, 3-5 years for positive cashflow, but you get highest relative rent & value appreciation.Vacancy Est: Historically 10%, 5% the more recent norm.Tenant Pool: Majority will have FICO scores of 680+ (roughly 5% probability of default), zero evictions in last 7 years.Class B Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, decent amount of relative rent & value appreciation.Vacancy Est: Historically 10%, 5% should be applied only if proper research done to support.Tenant Pool: Majority will have FICO scores of 620-680 (around 10% probability of default), some blemishes, but should have no evictions in last 5 yearsClass C Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, high cashflow and at the lower end of relative rent & value appreciation.

One I close on that house, I plan to go buy a good lot and get a decent builder to build the next one. 

Once you feel you've built a strong team with your first property and have solid systems in place, I would then start buying more aggressively and taking on bigger projects.

Over the next 5–10 years, I plan to scale to a portfolio of rental properties and eventually diversify into syndications.I’m particularly interested in the Lynchburg, VA market and other areas with strong rental demand.What I Bring to the Table:I’ve been saving aggressively, and I’m exploring physician loans to help get started with minimal upfront costs.I’ve done a lot of reading (shoutout to BiggerPockets books!)

Sales agent gets slightly more aggressive than I like, but other than that, they seem more trustworthy than other opportunities like this that I come across.    

Based on my calculations, even with a low down payment, I can achieve positive cash flow (with aggressive enough house hacking).