I purchased my first buy and hold SF rental property last year and turned the property into a student rental as it was very close to a local College.

It’s good to budget for unforeseen expenses.Regarding PMI, it’s worth discussing directly with your loan servicer since many lenders require holding the property for a period or reaching specific equity thresholds before removal.If market rents are $2,200–$2,500, hiring a property manager could help you optimize rent while taking the burden of tenant screening off your plate.

Also I feel buy and holds are harder to structure partnerships as its not that much money when split in between two people.

As for the areas to target, my goal in getting our feet wet as real estate investors--and since we plan to be living in Sac--is to find a property we can live in while renting out one or more units to help cover our housing expenses, which we can then hold and continue to rent out when we move.

My plan is to purchase a home that I will hold onto while hoping to gain both forced and time appreciation.

That's why I came across turnkey properties for some hand holding as you mentioned.  

If we are losing money every year, but do plan on holding on to it long term, with our goal being appreciation of the market and someone else paying a good chunk of our mortgage, is this worth doing on any level? 

Investment Info:Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Valdosta.

Unfortunately we've had a very cold winter here, with temps holding below freezing for weeks at a time so many of us are seeing high heating bills in general.

We intend to hold the property in our name for at least 12 months before starting construction.