It's not an expense, but it for sure is not coming into my pocket and staying there month per month.I see that you're a musician!

Just curious to know where the real estate investors minds are at these days :)Thanks Carrie,My reason is to enable my loved ones and myself to have a life that we all desire ;)Thanks and have a great day.

It's awesome that you are majoring in entrepreneurship since that could enable you to do any business, especially REI.  

With investment real estate IRS rule 1031 ([source](http://www.irs.gov/uac/Like-Kind-Exchanges-Under-IRC-Code-Section-1031)) enables you to sell (“exchange”) one type of property for another and, if handled correctly, is not a taxable event.

This enables me  to use my retirement fund to invest in real estate and I have control of my funds. 

Thanks for the advice, I'm glad to see there are other musicians here!  

I thought I remembered from a few of the BP podcasts that people had been able to force equity by a combination of improvements that enabled them to raise rents and better management that meant higher occupancy.Now, provided the OP has a good grasp of his market, he's saying he can raise rents WITHOUT exceeding market rates, which I think we can all agree is a good idea.

This enabled us to request the plumber hydrojet the line to remove some of the roots with a follow up pipecam which the seller paid for. 

I do this so often that I created an online tool which enables me to instantly estimate a break-even price (where rent equals recurring expenses).

I see the benefits of positive cash flow from day one as being a huge deal since that can create the snowball effect and thus enable me to purchase more properties faster.