My goal is to provide my own retirement funds through RE investments, and then any extra retirement funds (or social security, if there is such a thing in 30 years) from other employment would just be icing on the cake.

With the amount of snow we get and the drastic temperature changes ice dams on the roofs cause a lot of the issues i see.

then your off and running someone else is paying your mortgageONe very important point to all of this and I think the post  08 GFC creating a huge shift in thought process of what a good investment is and what a bad one is.How many times do we hear folks say... appreciation is icing on the cake blah blah blah. and its all about cash flow.and we forget about the power of your tenant paying your mortgage off and your tax write offs.. those that try to reach for the highest cash flow deals usually end up with the least over time and the worse asset.. those that understand that real estate is location location location and you want your tenants to pay off your house.. there is not enough velocity of positive cash flow to substantially affect someone's life unless they can buy 10 to 50.. what you want is a solid property that your tenant pays off so that in 20 or 30 years you own it free and clear that's when you cash flow and or you have an forced savings.For bay area investors.. how many would have liked to buy in Cupertino or Palo Alto or any other peninsula area when homes were 100k ( 1980 and just let the tenant pay off the mortgage ) even if you had to feed it a little over the years. what would you have in 2010 when your 30 year mortgage was done.. ????? 

I put in the lease that " It is the tenant's responsible for snow and ice removal of sidewalks and stairs.

"I noticed the fridge wasn't cold when I went by on my way to the airport, can you see if it is making ice now?

If @Bill Gulley wants to refer to me as a student I guess I can live with that but he has to buy the first ice cold beer at class meetups.  

If you're going to look at an empty house bring her along to get that daddy time, teach her what you're doing, then stop for ice cream on the way home.  

The eves trough has nothing to do with the ice damming.

My one dog is like Bambi on ice on hardwoods so having a little carpet trail for her and she has zero problems staying on it (Think more kids jumping over lava spots to get from room to room than an actual trail of carpet)Just some thoughts and good luck!

There's also a local real estate group that meets at the old ice rink at Valley View and I-35. once a month.