Many contractors get burned by property owners and getting paid through the lien process is no fun at all.Another thing to think about with GC’s asking for a large deposit is their ability to be in it for the long haul and to potentially handle multiple projects simultaneously.

But it would give you time to save up for the 20% on a refinance in 2 years or give you the ability to use any equity gained to refinance in 2 years.

I don't have the skill set YET to gauge rehab costs and try to BRRRR, but I'd like to learn.This is definitely a choice but my option is that you will do better if you focus on duplexes and cherry-pick a few SFRs as you come across them.As for your Strengths, it sounds like you have an excellent ability to save and your ability to bulk analyze data will serve you well to identify big-picture areas, property types, and characteristics to focus on.I like that you realize the first investment will not be your best investment.

The location being Las Cruces, New Mexico was yet another sucker punch that has negatively impacted my ability to do much with the property.

@Fakaradin Floy as mentioned landlords in alexandria don’t need help renting units right now and will not risk arbitraging the unit that is solely based on your ability to rent the unit when you have no experience and will most likely take no responsibility for damage.Am

Getting your real estate license can be helpful, especially if you want direct access to listings, market data, and the ability to save on agent commissions.

My purpose behind my decision to pursue REI is to gain financial freedom for wife and I, my future family as well as have the ability to make sure my parents are well taken care of once they reach the retirement age.If I had to label myself I’d want to be known as an open minded rental investor for all long term, mid term and short term investing, with the occasional flip for quicker capitol to put back into another rental.

Operational control, most importantly, the ability to perform value add work to increase your returns.For instance, if I want to buy microsoft which I think is a great investment (likely to net 15-20% for the forseeable future)--better than real estate (which I expect to unleveraged yield 8-10% (5-6% on rent 3-4% on appreciation). 

It is solid to look at deals that are off-market and know that the ability to buy it at a price and either hold it or sell it will be coming with less competition on the purchase and more upside.  

That's not a show stopper since you'll never go broke paying tax on profit.But the ability to use all of that big tax bill to benefit yourself throughout the rest of your life and then pass it along to your heirs tax free is seriously worth considering.