Make sure you have funds set aside for an emergency, if you have personal debt, try to eliminate as much as possible, understand what your personal balance sheet looks like in regards to monthly cash flow and net worth.Investing in real estate is investing in a business, and you need to have a good understanding of your financial picture before you begin to buy a business.I would then focus on what niche you want to start with.  

Special features are what set Airbnb apart.

You still have a young loan so  let the amortization run its course and set your regular income aside for the next opportunity/project that you want to explore.  

We can set a time to hop on the video or hell you should come check out Chicago for yourself! 

The areas I'm searching now for properties are serving all three audiences well, so my next step is going to be looking for inroads to the corporate people who lead the relocation set up / contracts so as to be their Property-of-Choice. ;-)Many thanks!

- Do I need to have a business set up?

I would appreciate it if you could help me set up a team towards investing in rental properties.I will be self funding my initial investment but will use refinance to fund subsequent investments.I will appreciate your guidance.Suhael Ahmed

The loan is often amortized over a set number of years, but the specific terms (e.g., interest-only payments, balloon payments, etc.) depend on your agreement

You are all set. 

I feel like I e read before that 25% of net profit is a good rule of thumb to set aside for those taxes, but what have you all found to be true?