So yes I will probably use a general contractor.However, your question does let me know that I have one more piece to that puzzle I have to plan for, so thank you very much!

Most of them also got puzzled when I mention WY Holding LLC that will owned local LLC in MA.

We don't really use credit scores except as just one piece of the puzzle.

Now, if you don't need the rental income, then it doesn't matter.I would also say here that if you are moving more than 100 miles away that you are allowed to have a 2nd FHA loan anyway so refinancing the vacating property isn't even necessary.The really important piece of the puzzle is that we need you to be prequalified in order to know if you need the rental income or not. 

A good lender will advise you on how to organize those other pieces of the puzzle so you can be in the best position to buy real estate.Keep in mind that unless you get a rehab loan, any repairs you make will be out of pocket and that's money that you could use to invest in other properties.

@James Gleeson broker relationships are good and one piece of the puzzle but there are hundreds of brokers who already have their primary buyers for this kind of product of which there are many (buyers).

i'm not generally so shy, but feeling so inexperienced with not much to offer i kind of clamed up. anyhow...i have talked to two different real estate agents back in NC on the phone with hopes of meeting them in person in a few weeks to get the ball rolling... and while i'm nervous and apprehensive to make a purchase.. i feel like i'm not ready, i guess i wont know until i try. i still feel kind of lost on what i should be doing right now... theres so many pieces of the puzzle that its easier to just read another book than figure out how to estimate rehab cost, or how to analyze a property etc.... pumped to be apart of this community and hopefully meet some people!  

  : ) At the end of the day, the most important piece of the puzzle is the team/partner, regardless of the size of the project, so do your due diligence on those people.

We are doing OK with rental: good tenants and positive cash flow but we're now trying to solve the puzzle of how to finance REI #2: another cash out refi against our primary, a heloc, etc..

@Michael Gabin Hi Michael,It sounds like you are getting ready to jump and that you have already done a good deal of legwork - people have already identified the key categories: Single Family Homes, Multi-Familys 1-4 for residential investments and 5+ for commercial, Retail property and commercial properties - and then there are the specialist areas like Hotels and Mobile Home Parks etc.Some general guidelines are:Decide on your ultimate income requirement per month or per year - tax benefits and appreciation are often factored into these calculations but if you want somewhere to start that would be a good place.Once you've done that you can then start to work on the cash-flow per unit - a good rule of thumb is $200-$400+ for a SFR and $100-200+ for a unit in a multi-family ( that's Cash flow after expenses)If you plan to diversify within your Real Estate portfolio then you would be looking at a mixture of those cash-flows to make your required incomeThat leads you to think about how you would like to manage the properties - do you want to engage management or manage yourself - this is another piece of the puzzle to decide so you can get startedOnce you've got a clearer idea of the overall shape then you would decide about the best way to organise the investments in terms of capital outlay...Basically you would either;Pay cash outright - NOT a great plan financially probably don't need to go into that!