I also need to get my rental hat on.

It is not something that can be avoided if the pet has fur or feathers or dander even if furless. 

You hit most of my favorite hot buttons:1 - Basic math2 - Compounding3 - re-investing your cash's "friends" (profit/cash flow)I would add this:1 - Cash you put into the deal upfront is the amount of negative cash flow you are starting with...and the cash flow you get after t hat must first catch up to your cash in to break even...before you start to make money.2 - Adding more money (cash) upfront to change a negative CF deal into a positive one is an illusion.  

I wear several hats in that area including managing property (property manager) and being a realtor.

For everyone interested in the unit after showings, I draw names out of a hat.

Joe should invest in real estate to have some passive income in addition to his W2, but so should Joe's Custom Cowboy hat business, right??

Tip of the hat to Mindy and Scott for encouraging this move to reduce housing expenses and start down a new path toward (hopefully) financial freedom.

".Seriously, this is an important issue and should not be taken lightly.At my church, at a recent pot luck, I had a chance to get to know some people in the congregation who asked me what I do for a living and I explained "bla bla bla" .A woman in a very colorful hat said, "I am facing foreclosure is there anything I could do to help her".

It is not all hats and horns and it takes real persistence to be successful. 

Will do; we hope to beging preparing probate deals fort hat county soon.