(those are opinions) Wherever you invest, here's a partial list of what I think should be considered:The local markets where they are considering investing (Supply and Demand, Vacancy rate etc.)Economy of the local areas (Broad based economy, Unemployment rate, Median Household Income, etc.)the types of properties in any given area (SFR, MFR, Condos, Mobile homes, Mixed Use, General Office, Medical Office, Retail, Parking lots, Marinas,  etc.)Investors may also want to look at properties such as Vacation Rentals (Which is a growing segment of the market in certain areas, and can in fact cash flow very well) though they require much more managementOther segments of the market that can cash flow very well are group type housing (sober living, transitional housing for the homeless, and other types of housing) that rent bed space and can be very lucrative.

I'm hoping to participate as much as I can in the forums.

Hiring freezes and fat cutting of the lower level(low paid) support staff and production staff(if production is reduced).

@Pedro OlivaSome closing attorneys will allow you to just use your buyers funds so you can in theory " close " on the home for a brief moment. 

Human nature tells me that's a big fat NO.

I've offered to help out in any way that I can in exchange for mentoring.

Well you could rent out 2 parking spots in Cali and make is much cash flow as you can in many markets.Here is my first blog post.

I can't hit the 2% rule or consistently make $200/door/month like others can in other geographies, but I can hit 1-1.5% and $100/door/month, so it works given that I want to invest where I live.  

If it is best to use as little of your own money to pay for the mortgage because your money is best used acquiring more real estate, for greater cash flow, can it be easily said then, that when financing a rental property, it is best to have the smallest down payment that you can in order to acquire the financing?

With HD, if I have a big reno coming up, I make a shopping list, then count on spending an entire day in HD taking down SKU numbers (or doing it online), and then making a "Bid-Room" to order as much of the job's materials as I can in one shot.