For starters there are three classes of rental candidates we do not rent to, they are:FriendsFamily& FoolsWay too many stories of that brother, cousin or distant relative moving in and thinking your have "Bigger Pockets" and decide on their own the you don't "need" to collect the rent.

Funny thing is the book was also useful in a family relationship that was distant.

I’m a distant person in a forum giving advice based on limited information. 

I remember the not too distant days when I was a renter, I always enjoyed the coupon books. 

This policy generally precludes nail and screw damage at installation and into the distant future.Again, thanks the heads up.

ok, yeah I could not decide if I wanted to go with the long distant membership , since I'm starting off, or the individual membership.

As I become more knowledgeable my plan may change but as of now I am positioned for a buy and hold strategy.I am not opposed to investing outside of the state but am having a difficult time in finding the right area that is going to give me the best price-to-rent ratio.My long term goal would be to work for myself and allow me and my wife the luxury and blessing to stay home so we can raise our baby…hopefully another one on the way in the not so distant future =)My other long term goal would be to gain enough knowledge to become a major contributor to Biggerpockets.However, in the meantime I still I still have to work my 9 to 5 job for at least the next 5 years until I acquire the knowledge and network to be a full time REI.

For your first time investment, I would recommend a single family home and section 8 the home out if you are doing long distant investing.

So you'll need to decide if you're committed to staying close to home and can find numbers there that make you happy... or if you're willing to chase better returns in more distant markets.

@Chris Martin I've been thinking about this too; especially (in the distant future), I own commercial properties.