Then the rent money earned also stays local, helping offset their abatement.

Don’t rely too much on others to guide you ultimately, there will be many voices that tell you how difficult real estate can be, about tenants who flush steaks down the toilet (has happened to me) and evictions in NY.

$200/mo has been the long-standing average in Milwaukee, but with current rates you'll need to bring a bit more down payment.However, stay above at or above median price. 100k does buy you a lot of headaches and future capex.

Tenants typically stay that long because (a) the rents are way below market and they can't give up a good deal, or (b) they are bad tenants who enjoy the freedom of living under a weak landlord.

If you have a lease in place for the property, you can count that towards the monthly expense, but not always easy when you need a place to stay. 

There are some serious housing perks with my new job offer: 1) $150K in a 0% interest forgivable loan for downpayment (10% forgiven each year 2) a special home loan program that is currently lending at an interest rate of 4.1%. 3) Can join a waitlist for on-campus faculty housing that is sold for at 50-75% of the fair market value consequently when you sell you are capped at how much you can sell for; waitlist for these homes is approximately 7-10 years and you can stay there until you die).

@Orlando Kell In that case one of my other favorite books outside of Jscotts that I recommend is What Your Contractor Can't Tell You: The Essential Guide to Building and Renovating

Please let me know if you need anything during your stay, or if a detail has been missed.”

Pro: Being an active agent helps you keep learning, gaining experience, and also staying motivated.

However, what I have found is that the majority of students do not stay beyond the 1 year, so when you go to the FB group with a question, it can take a long time to get an answer, and most of the others answering are newbies who are just getting started and don't have experience.