I have entertained the idea of getting my real estate license (so we could be saving money on our buys and sells) as well as helping take care of the odds and ends errands that eats into my husband’s time (running to stores for materials, fixtures, etc.).

Recession resistant asset class (people downsize, move in together, move back home, etc. during recessions)Cash flowing asset (not dependent on market appreciation)People buy a lot of crap and toys during good economic times (and need a place to put it)75% of the facilities in the country are owned by non-institutional owners (opportunity for adding value)Small ($10-30) rental increases create large increases in NOI and property valuationSticky tenant baseUnits are easy to maintain (brick and metal, no amenities, little landscaping)Location, population growth, and barriers to entry matter. 

She can read through all of the material and take practice exams before she takes the final on each portion, or she can work backwards like I did and brief the practice exams before going over material.

I wanted to build in the 250 to 350 space but found it impossible between cost of land, labor and materials the math does not work.

Either way, you get a book that also presents the material.

Any advice on where to source inexpensive materials for general renovations?

(You would need to add any other material terms such amortization, balloon per your transaction.)

I generally ambush someone I think to be a contractor (full cart of building materials), who looks professional and organized.

For a number of years we felt we weren’t in a position to invest in real estate and we always had good reasons/excuses, but after listening to and reading so many stories I can see that we really should have started earlier.I’ve been consuming as much material as possible the past several months from books, podcasts and blogs.

Also, my dad does contractor sales at Lowes so I'm running everything by him on materials side to see if what I'm being quoted sounds reasonable.