Hi John,Welcome to the world of real estate investing—it sounds like you’ve got an amazing foundation to build on, even if you’re just starting out.

My love affair with real estate derived from my late mom who had a passion for buying real estate to build wealth.

But I’d say the key to success is building a reliable team on the ground.

Also you seem to be motivated to build since you already have these lots. 

I am focused on building capital at the moment since it wouldn't be a primary residence for me, so I want to stay under $300K.

I have 2 empty lots that I want to build 2 rental properties on in Decatur, AL, but there is not a lot of new construction in the area.

Good luck building your portfolio!

This is very useful.You could build a deck or gazebo to house a hot tub.

While the townhome is in good shape overall, it does need some mild cosmetic updates to bring it up to rental standards.My goal is to leverage this property to start building a real estate portfolio, but I’m not sure what the best first step is.

But I was lucky to get into the cabin building and I'm doing the same with the cabins that I did building my rental portfolio.