My biggest issue is just choosing a place I want to live with a solid market for real estate.

Efficiency Comes from Building the Right TeamOne of the biggest ways we’ve streamlined our business is by bringing everything in-house.

Your comment does bias me slightly in favor of Indy, since at least we're talking about a manageable car ride.That said, I'd love to know the biggest mistakes you've seen - how do neophytes typically "crash and burn?"

Biggest lesson learned was to keep at it, keep learning, and work with seller and title company to get the deal done.

The biggest issue is that forgetting to assign a location or choosing the wrong one can mess up your balance sheet, leading to inaccuracies.

But by the the biggest issue is PRICE.

And no matter what, keep an eye on how your financing structure lines up with your exit strategy.Where do you see the biggest risk.. sinking money into improvements or letting the buy back linger too long?

I can say from having taught classes on these loans that your contractor will be the biggest key to your success.

Biggest thing is cash position.  

@Mattin Hosh first, most cities in Metro Detroit have some type of rental property inspection every 2-3 years.It's not really a big deal 99% of the time - especially for owners who are NOT slumlords:)Also, a quick Google search will show that several states/cities are passing/considering similar legislation.One of the biggest mistakes we see newer investors making is NOT properly understanding Neighborhood/Property/Tenant Classes and naively assuming that any rental they buy will deliver Class A results.Read our copy & paste thoughts below and DM us if you'd like to dicuss more about the Detroit market:)-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Recommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?