The BP forums, podcasts, books, and meetups have helped me gain a better understanding of how I want to use real estate to gain passive income and eventually financial freedom.

I agree with the other users try to house hack because you can use a FHA loan put 3.5% down and even after closing potentially have a good amount of money left in the bank.

A good agent will have an enstablished client base of owners and users to call upon and an active network.  

The reason i wasn't particularly concerned is because my target area is a popular investor / small business owner area and you can see bandit signs on every street corner from wholesalers, lawn services, tv internet services, junk car removal services and others.

Hmm, can't get him to hyperlink, his profile is below. https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/TylerW108#0

The votes generally work to promote value-added posts...but the ineffective internet gutter posts get voted up too.

I plan to put in around $10k to modernize it and bring to comps renting for $1,300 per month, which includes all bills (water, internet, etc. )With the improvements to the area, I can see it being a long buy and hold play. 

When I've done this to see how much money I didn't make because I didn't use real money, I ended up learning how much money I didn't lose because I didn't use real money.

@Luis Barberi That is also a good thing, it will probably be a little difficult unless the company has enough size to be talked about on the internet, but either way, be very diligent and aware and you will do great.

There is another consideration though it may be a small one, fire hazard, occasionally they explode, or overhead which can cause a fire or injury to the user.