Door count is the worst (commonly discussed) metric in the real estate investing community.

I made the mistake of renting my single-family house in Alpharetta to a tenant with a credit score in the 500s in December 2023.

They pretend like the overcharges are a mistake on my part, but we did not agree to any of those extra charges and it was in the thousands of dollars.

Find someone who knows the ropes to help you and steer clear of common mistakes. 

But the second there are issues, it's damn near impossible to get information/assistance from them.Funny, I have 1 in 38127 and thought I head heard that was the worst area...almost like the problem isn't the zip code!

When dealing with legal matters, the biggest mistake folks make is not listening to the attorney.It sounds like you’re out of town. 

In many areas of Dallas I see the very worst properties that need a lot of work go for about 10% off, but that is not the norm. 

@Alex NARecommend exploring as many sources as possible to get referrals AND cross-reference them to get as much accurate information as possible.Check out NARPM.com, BP’s Property Manager Finder (BiggerPockets: The Real Estate Investing Social Network), etc.Also, encourage you to learn from the mistakes of others - by reading posts here on BiggerPockets about owners not having their expectations met by their current Property Management Company.

There is hard work, taking risks, learning from your mistakes and having some fun along the way.

Even though you'd be getting into the deal with $0 down, you should still have enough cash (or availability to access cash) to cover the worst case scenario of a tenant who immediately stops paying after you close on the property and requires you to complete an eviction action against them.To your second question, I'm sure you've heard it before, but the 4 main ways you make money in real estate are cash flow, appreciation, debt paydown, and tax benefits/depreciation.