I then did my research over the next 24 hours and found more than a few red flags:Current Owner was in default on a 100% financing loan.A simple call to the Title Company revealed the offer was not yet approved.I then wrote him an email asking for the HOA bylaws, he could not produce them.

Being a New Yorker and hearing all the horror stories about Professional Tenants I decided to invest in a Red State, without getting too Political all I will say is when you do your research you will find Red States are more Landlord Friendly...

Draw a 1 mile radius circle in red around those areas.

It is like watching a roulette wheel and seeing five reds in a row, then predicting the next will be black.

Builders build feverishly when they see a green light, but can't stop building when it turns yellow, and they still bring inventory on-line when the light is red.

There is a lot of red tape and bureaucracy involved in setting up and operating. 

Here are delinquency rates for consumer loans (blue) and mortgages (red) with debt to disposable income thrown in for good measure. 

I know the market is red hot, and we are not in a hurry as we are looking to invest excess cash flow into a couple of houses a year over the next six or seven years.

With our red hot economy due for some kind of correction, going bigger might be better for the simple logic of sustainability.If you buy a nicer 6-Plex in a nice area vs. a working class 30 unit with lower rents in a decent stable C neighborhood what happens when you get a vacancy?  

After discussing pricing and scope of work, he explained that I would pay for each phase of work as it was about to begin (this should have been a huge red flag).It is now February and the house is still not complete.