:) BP pod, best real estate advice ever pod, rental property owner and real estate investor pod <---- IMO start with the last one I mentioned, there is SO much information that you will have an excellent grasp on the important themes of RE by the time you get to the current episodes

You need to buy well enough so that you can improvement works that will increase the value of the house to a level where you can refinance and pull out your initial capital.And you also need a good grasp the repair costs in general. 

I'm having trouble grasping that a $550k 4-unit will cash flow at $800/mo without a very liberal calculator.

When you've built your own (even if you don't exclusively use it) I do think you get a much better grasp of the factors in a deal.

I have a grasp on easements, but none show on deeds.

To grasp why a home would go into default then foreclosure, that eventually leads to the property being an REO, you have to wrap your mind around the dynamics of economic trends in this country.

I love the idea of duplexes and multi-families, but want to start with this initial investment to fully understand and get a grasp on real-estate investing. 

Hello All, I am hoping maybe @Dmitry Formichenko, @Brian Eastman or @Steven Hamilton II might be able to give their input here :-) I have been investing with my SDIRA for some time and grasp most of the concepts of the accounting needed.

Once you get a grasp on how the three financial statements articulate with each other, you can create financial models that best suits your investments.

I think I have more of a grasp of what this strategy is now.What kind of return can you expect for typical performing notes?