I plan on doing this model also so I would love to follow your journey on this investment and learn what obstacles you may deal with. 

A follow up question I now have would be do you think its smarter to completely pay off the first property before buying a new property or to keep going out and buying new properties once i have enough saved up for the down payment along with extra fees?

For S's and G's, below is the most expensive SFH on the market in Tokyo right now, followed by one of the least expense:https://www.homes.co.jp/kodate...https://www.homes.co.jp/kodate...The condo market is probably more active than the SFH market, but I don't have much insight there.  

I apologized and said (and truly meant) I'd follow up on it and improve for the future.

Following - I'm also based in The Bay Area 

The systems you have in place to handle leads, follow-up and your sales processes are also huge factors.Another factor is what is your monthly marketing budget?

.- Understand that you can have never more than 2/3 of the following:  Fast, Good, and Cheap.  

But find them, pay them well, and FOLLOW their advice. 

I found the son on Facebook and sent a quick intro giving my condolences, expressed my interest in purchasing the property, and provided my phone # in case he decides to follow up.I'm in the process of preapproval with a couple lenders, and have reached out to a couple realtors in my area to see which may be a good fit.

One last follow-up question.On one of the IRS forms, I found the language pasted below.