Coupled with high property tax, crime rates, and overall poor quality of living Id steer clear from East Oakland.

I'd steer away from booking in advance to avoid conflicts unless you have several housing options.

@James PeckI'd recommend starting out locally but if you're dead set on initial cashflow as your main objective I can steer you in a different direction. 

But the exact same can be said of someone like you who gets compensated to steer folks to a certain turn key provider in a certain market...

I say we should steer clear.

The other 50% is owned by my brother and his wife.So my understanding is it would be considered self-dealing and I should steer clear, however if I were to have ownership with the 401k plan then holding a note with the same Plan could be a tool in the tool belt.

Wesley, since you prefer "no-tenant-involvement" reports, you want to steer clear of SmartMove and Experian's Connect product.

Brokers steering buyers to properties that benefit the broker first is unethical unless the property meets the buyers criteria.  

Keep in mind, they may steer you toward the types of properties that they WANT to manage (close to them, low maintenance) rather than those with the absolute best returns.

I am trying to steer away from so much reading and more action, but I can't help but think about reading the flipping house book by J Scott.