Can't have your cake and eat it too.4) I do like the idea of other income and they didn't provide enough information to determine if those amounts are inflated like the rents are.

The rest should be icing on the cake.

Great advice @Engelo Rumora My deals just originate from being part of the community...in 2018 I've bought properties from fellow REIA members who were downsizing, a bunch from investors who ran screaming from Toledo when the lead paint ordinance was in full-swing, had several just drop in my lap because everyone I shake hands with knows I buy their headache properties.Last time I checked my spreadsheet I was tracking 22 deals in the Toledo market that I was in process of considering...there's always opportunity, its just a matter of chasing down the deals, sorting the chaff from the wheat, and then making something edible at the end!

It's a good neighborhood to rent in, but won't be a piece of cake. 

We just completed a HELOC on one of our rentals and it was a piece of cake.

Now, for the seasoned investor this might be a piece of cake, but for newbies and/or people who are investing abroad, this is one of the most daunting aspects of real estate investing because markets are so localized and unique. 

In the 3 markets were considering moving to, we'd expect some seasonal fluctuations in demand/pricing elasticity, but overall, would expect to have some relatively healthy occupancy rates year-round (say, 70-80%)Appreciation would be more the icing-on-the-cake than anything, so a properties ability to CASH FLOW is more important to us than the rate with which it may appreciate in value.

You betcha, that LLC thing could be used as "icing on the [lender's] cake," with cake in this case being legal actions taken against you.

I would love a finders or assignments fee but that will only be icing on the cake.

I'm much more comfortable with the process and the first 10 houses would be a piece a cake.