Buy and Hold investing is a great avenue to begin with as most people live their lives off of residual income. 

I have been sued multiple times by tenants and never did a thing wrong and never lost a case.

Sounds like a great deal overall, congrats Ghita! 

I was hoping to do a new construction Duplex.

Warren - I'm in the Atlanta market and would love to connect.

I don't think your first property needs to be perfect, but doing the work in advance gives you the possibility of refi (in a good rate environment) or more equity on a HELOC.

Insurance was a huge challenge, but BiBerk (a Berkshire Hathaway company) was willing to write a policy for us. 

Dave Van Horn is a collegue of mine and I am glad that he was able to point you in a direction that helped you feel better about your retirement planning. 

For example, I often recommend working with vendors who specialize in rental property maintenance or have experience with rental landscaping to keep your property looking great without overspending.Start Small and SmartFocus on buying a property that fits your budget and investing goals.

I'm a little hesitant to get into the city of Syracuse.