I don't mean to go against the grain of those who are selling that idea - all I can say is that it did not work for me.So.......... back to taking seminars, buying cassette tapes and books - I wanted to learn everything I could about investing in real estate ---- so--I had to get money, working capital, and I needed to go on the cheap - A friend told me about cheap properties you could buy in Baltimore - houses for only $2-3,000 and many of them could be found at public auctions.After borrowing some money and getting some credit cards and a new job - one in sales - I was ready - ready to invest in cheap- junk properties in the City.And wouldn't you know it - I got lucky at my first auction and purchased a cheap house that was boarded up - Because of all those expensive seminars I enrolled in I WAS READY - prepared with my pry-bar, flash light, level, marble and probe - I decided to go to this building that was being auctioned the next day - I sort of removed some plywood and crawled through a window to take a look -Boy was I surprised - this place looked great - I later found out that the estate boarded it to keep squatters out.The next day - I was ready with my deposit and waiting for the auctioneer to start his melodious hypnotic chant - 5 bidders appeared but did not bid because they could not get it - I was the only bidder and got the house real cheap.Today as an auctioneer, investor and developer of commercial properties - if someone would ask my opinion on how to get started I would suggest ---Continue to study but learn how to cut through the BSGet a credit line Learn 20 creative financing techniques - no money down systems (that is none of your own money)Hang with a few successful investors and pick - pick - pick their brain*** Look at 50 houses in the area you intend to invest (not expensive, blue collar, mixed rental and home owner neighborhoods)When you are finished looking at 50 properties - you will be armed with knowledge that most agents and other investors don't have - knowledge of values -Keep a journal, put listings in it, write down everything the agent or owner says, keep a record of the cost per square foot - this will help determine values -Have agents send you expired listings - go knock on the door or send a letter to ask if they are still accepting offers on the property - Remember an expired listed is a property that failed to sell - the seller should still be motivated to sell. 

The listing boasted 'NEW' Kitchen & Bath and they were blinded by the clean white kitchen cabinets/tumbled marble backsplash and new vanity in the main bath that they didn't see how cheaply it was done.

Sounds like you already had a pattern of paying.

Also, if you have a more modern unit, they have some pretty trendy patterns available, just FYI, and your higher-end tenants might appreciate it. 

As you can see, they have a pattern of not honoring their word, so their "agreement "means squat.

Mostly consists of Millennials entering their prime "settle-down" years who are realizing they'll never afford a home for their family in the Bay Area, and Boomers and Gen X'ers who just sold Grandpa's house in San Jose for over a million and can come out here and buy something all-cash and still have plenty of money left over to retire with.I have written more about this migration pattern here if you want to know more:https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/621/topics/396725-millennial-migration-to-sacramento-2017---here-comes-the-rushFor some B class neighborhoods, I would recommend that you try looking in North Oak Park, Arden-Arcade, Carmichael, and the area South of 50, East of 99, and North of Fruitridge Rd.

75 - 300 / sq' , i couldn't tell you, are you building a storage shed or a house with quartz or granite counter tops, marble floors in foyer / baths and decorative tiles in the baths, stained hardwood trim, custom kitchen and decorative trim throughout the house ?

I have a question I love to ask in boardrooms because it's such a "pattern interrupt": "How much money can you AFFORD to 'save'?"

When you sell a rental property at some point in the future (at least a year out), this is not viewed as a flip transaction, but rather just a reallocation of the IRA from holding passive real estate to holding cash.Your example of buy, fix, rent for 3 months, then sell would likely be viewed as a flip, especially if you repeated this pattern with multiple properties.The IRS does not define a "flip" in clear terms, but has a full set of measures they would apply to real estate transactions to determine whether something is a passive investment or a trade or business activity similar to competing commercial enterprises.  

Another town listed on your profile that I'm not familiar with, I see a pattern here!