What's the biggest thing holding you back from getting started in today's market?

Mold scare is the biggest crock of $eet in all of RE inspection bizz..

And then what about the roof, isn't that your biggest weakness then and how to you strengthen that up?

Enough to get you close but mitigate a turnover if possible.My biggest advice is be brutally honest when you assess market rate.

Biggest mistake that people make.

One of your biggest challenges will be separating all the online fluff from reality.EXAMPLE: several S8 "gurus" have already been exposed as frauds, but unfortunately, they sucked in thousands of investors.You're an engineer, use your education & experience to start building up a logical approach to investing in rentals:)Start with this:Recommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.So, when investing in areas they don’t really know, investors should research the different property Class submarkets.

The biggest pitfall I've always seen on BP regarding rentals are the number of people who get it in their head that it's an escape from a job or career they hate.

I will make thing easy for you.This is my actual real live assumption.Prop Price=$560k , interest rate=3.3%, capital gain tax for invstment=33%, appreciation=5.75% , slightly positive cash flow (DSCR 1.05).Result after 10 years:Return after 10 yearstotal_net_PITInetReturn Factorcapital gain if OO$577,851-$385,000$192,000(live for free)1.6capital gain if rental,positive CF$381,000$26,000$407,000(still the biggest buck)3.391666667caiptain gain if rental , negative CF$381,000-$24,000$357,000( not that bad really)2.975so rental property with highest appreciation and bit cash flow at the end of 10 year is still performed better, even negative CF is not that bad, the return from original investment after 10 years is still almost 3x.

We have the capital to weather the slow seasons and yes the mortgage is our biggest expense about 55%-60% not including taxes/insurance. 

The moisture seems to be the biggest concern, would a contractor be able to know where that is coming from?