Thanks for your service Jose.You have chosen a great area and house hacking is a win 99 out of 100 times in my book.Do keep in mind however that the VA is very particular about property conditions for their appraisals.

Right away, though, we got smacked with a $38,000 roof because the last several owners had chosen instead of fixing the roof to just add more layers on top of a roof that had already been leaking for at least five years.The moral of the story is, foundations aren't the only extreme capital expense.

2) Considering my experience and chosen niche(s), should I pay for a mentor?

If out of state, then probably TN, GA, or other affordable market.This is a situation that I have chosen for myself and my fiance.

By zip code it shows all activity in your chosen area regarding nightly rates, vacancies, amenities, etc.

Research the different ways to invest in real estate find the one that interest you so you enjoy learning about it and consume as much as possible on that aspect; whether its single family house, small multi-family, apartments, commercial, buy and hold, fix and hold, fix and flip, local investments, out of state investments, self-managed, professionally managed etc. as soon as you have an understanding of all the major components of that type of investing start looking for a relatively low risk deal to break yourself in on to gain experience, but don't stop reading up and learning more and more about your chosen area.

I work with many investors from all over the US (and all over the world) who have chosen Cleveland because of the great returns and low purchase price.  

How far in advance to people generally have a place chosen and booked?

For your chosen industry you should be aware of and understand things such as growth factors, demand factors, build rates, current supply, absorption rates, vacancy rates and other trends associated with your market.Best,Jason Mileshko

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