I picked up the same things too.

Quote from @Robert Ok: Heh all,I'm a newbie and loving what I've been picking up in REI so far. 

Contractor burnout is another concern.Owners like to think it's so easy to just pick up the phone or send a mass email to get contractors beating down their door to give them a bid and hopefully get the job.Doesn't work that way!

It's nothing like fancy pants hanging around kitchen stores picking out just the right cabinet door and handle pulls.

I wanted to work with someone who was going to pick up the phone when I called.From your first interaction with a broker/seller, show through your words and actions that you are honest and reliable.Lesson 4️⃣ - Buyers and sellers become business partners.I truly think one of the biggest oversights in due diligence is the seller themselves.

I wasn't told anything about cherry picking talent.

(Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, Michigian).Pick a more rural town/city, they are typically very safe.

LTRs with long term conventional financing and standard management aren't really cash flowing anywhere right now. sure, there are lower cost markets that look better on paper, but there are costs associated with those supposedly cheap markets as well - deferred maintenance, more challenging tenant base, higher cost turnovers as a percentage of the rent.2. i wouldn't pick a random market thousands of miles away based solely on statistics or numbers. 

Sounds like a pretty easy way to get in over my head fast, but at the same time, it seems like an opportunity to pick up a property WAY under market value and there theoretically should still be plenty of meat on the bone.

If you are a cash buyer , know the market and foreclosure process then you can pick up  property for a 25% discount in a desirable location.Cheers