Firstly I apologize that I do not have any market insights data specifically, but Houston has been a rough market as valuations have pulled back.

I am an agent and while you are partially correct - the majority of life insurance policies are structured for leaving the death benefit to the insured's beneficiaries.However, when a client asks for an 'infinite banking' policy, they are asking for a vehicle to accumulate cash that has tax advantages, moderate growth, liquidity and no exposure to market volatility.

Most land bank properties, Detroit or Wayne County, are trainwrecks and cost more to rehab than they are worth - unless the market keeps improving.Be careful on the next one, but keep improving Detroit!

I'm going to be taking some time to get to know people in my market as I kind of want to start local in Las Vegas.

What marketing efforts are they going to do outside of just posting in the MLS.

Networking and market research will be key to finding the right deals and scaling your portfolio.

As for your ques if to wait, well, it depends on the market, in some parts of the country prices are still going up, slower, but still going up, other parts the prices are coming down, you know that area, what is happening there? 

You should start with a focus on a 2 unit multifamily property in a market that you can afford to get into. 

Just shop around online, look for properties similar to yours, add them to favorites and watch them to see how long it takes for them to rent.

But, the self-sufficiency test for FHA loans can be really difficult in SF, meaning that the market rent from units you will not occupy must be sufficient to pay for the mortgage payment.