Once you have ran through about 3 months or so of this and penciled out 50-100 deals for fun, I would talk to a local agent and start the process of looking.

Let’s talk shop!

Who talked you into buying the Costa Mesa condo? 

When you talk to finance people they act like they are lawyers.

He always talks about his deals being conservative, but there seems to be some big gaps in the underwriting, with the 2 deals I am in. 

Quote from @Jeffrey Bourque: Hello All, I am new and this is my first attempt at purchasing a property with the intent to create monthly cash flow.The property: Triplex Listed at $140,000 - Total monthly rent income $2,150 - Tenants want to stay and are all willing to sign new leases for 3 years - 8 beds 5 baths and 3,500sqft livable space on a 4,800sqft lot - Heat and electric paid by tenants and water trash paid by owner $180 month - I have managed to talk the selling price down to $105,000 with a kick of $10,000 for closing and commissions so $115,000 all in - Building is in fairly good shape according to pictures and questions but have not done a inspection yet - some general maintenance repairs are needed according to the seller but nothing that seems to bother the tenants. - Taxes are on the higher side at $6,000 yearMy Numbers: $115,000 putting 20% of my money $23,000 and finance the rest with total expense of $1,834Monthly expense numbers: Future Maintenance 13% $273 - Vacancy 5% $105 - Property Insurance 5% $105 - Property Taxes 23% $500 - Property management 10% $215 - Office/Travel/Legal 4% $84 - Mortgage 26% $552 - Monthly Cash Flow - $316 per month or $3,792 per year so Cash on Cash = 17%I think this looks like it is a deal worth doing and I also believe I can bump the total rent up by $50 each tenant which I think make it even better.

Stop hanging out with your deadbeat buddies who spend all day drinking, talking sports, and otherwise wasting away.

It's a great way to talk through your plans and goals for real estate with people that actually understand! 

Hey guys, I understand that a lot of time is spent talking about how to leverage your current real estate holdings to obtain new ones.  

I'd talk to the tenant now.