Over time, I discovered mistake #2 was not buying them right.

I can't buy gas with a percentage.

PS - Since 2003, Dean & DeWitt Property Management has helped investors buy, sell, and manage investment properties in the St.

This would likely take coordination with a tenant at some point - (ie - plenty of notice to them that they must vacate in order for you to sell the property)Since your current home is free and clear -  you could do a cash out refi or take out a new mortgage on the new house to be able to buy your paren't house and pay off the mortgage.  

Unless you've done substantial improvements to the building or used a large down payment when buying, it's unlikely this will work.Perhaps your best move is to find a new primary residence that is 2-4 units and repeat the process.

For someone looking for diversification or steady long-term growth without getting too hands-on, your suggestion of buying and upgrading a rental property in a familiar and appreciating area makes a lot of sense.

Since you’re already networking and have some good realtor contacts, focus on narrowing down your investment strategy (like buy-and-hold or house hacking) and target markets with solid cash flow potential.

BiggerPockets also has a calculator to analyze deals, and I highly recommend you start this as soon as possible, even if you are not ready to buy.

Not realizing I was only getting a few hundred a month from it and from a cash-on-cash perspective I'd have been better off buying TBills with the click of a button instead of all the hard work, stress, time, and planning I put into it. 

They put on a good show, but don't buy in.