I recently got engaged to my girlfriend and we are planning to buy our own home in the nest year or so.

Like I said, its definitely worth trying to engage the neighbor. 

Keep engaging on BP, listen to the podcast, and definitely read as many books as you can on REI and the mindsets that create successful investors. 

You'll quickly see who the bigger players are in that space & they should probably be able to help you build that portfolio.

By the time I load my tools in my truck, diagnose the problem, run for parts, etc it often takes 2-3 times as long as someone who is equipped for this work.I will try to handle turning units between renters because it's a good opportunity to engage my teenage kids and pay them $x/hr for painting, cleaning and maintenance and teach them something about hard work in the process.

My takeaway was that if it seems too easy, the payback is too quick, a person rockstars from nothing to a major player in no time, yeah, you oughtta be suspicious.

My recommendation for people starting out is to go to local REIA meetings, find out who the players are and ask if you can shadow them / work for free to learn.

I done this not only to get more insight into commercial real estate but to try and add value to a deal while representing my clients.I look forward to networking and engaging in discussions with like minded individuals.

Account ClosedAny person engaged in property management activities in Illinois needs to be licensed.This would include showing a unit for sale or lease.The only way to get around that would be hire a leasing agent, which can only be used for leasing activities and not sales.

Shortly after that, I got engaged and moved in with my fiancee, and now I rent out both units in that duplex.