I love real estate, it’s in my blood but it’s really competitive.

Oh oh, up here off 12bridges the homeowners sued the builders of 100s of homes because the stucco was less 1/2" think & started falling off & all sorts of windows were leaking (maybe thinner stucco, i'll try to find a story on it, but it was so thin you could push on it & it would flex)If you walk it yourself, take lots of time, take notes, & ask questions & buyer beware

At 3 hours away you might need a property manager in the remote location so that's going to affect your profitability, and you'll need to weigh that against the possibly thinner margins locally because of competition. 

I feel after the inventory dries up and deals become thinner, I'll take a stab at apartments as well.What are some of the reasons you've decided not to acquire SFH as well?

On the other hand, that can all be lifted given he and his wife are equipped with a good PM to do the job.But yeah, I wasn't trying to say that each vacancy would be more costly as the "slices" of the pie are much thinner the more units you have.

She is now strong and healthy after 2 blood transfusions and a lot of good food looking for her forever homeMy husband James and I have a unique story to most I believe.  

I agree that it's a bit too risky for my blood. 

You can't get blood out of stone.

If you knew what I've learned about the credit industry in the past two years you'd probably need blood pressure medication just to LOOK at a credit card!...

I agree, I bought a Duplex in Gunter below market value, it cash flows and I put about 20K of forced equity in by getting much below market, but your right its so hard to find deals like that through conventional means, MLS, Realtor, Zillow and expect it to appreciate 8% a year.I'm not a big direct marketing guy yet, as thousands are doing that in North Texas, even radio ads are popping up on all channels now, billboards, bandit signs, there is so much blood in the water, makes me want to do turn keys in Kansas or Memphis, etc.