The truth is, you could read 100 books and still not know enough because certain things need to be learned through trial-and-error.

Those who think they can go it alone or under some scamming guru, well, they are probably the same ones who would represent themselves in their own murder trial, the audacity on this site is unbelievable.Beware of the gurus, they will be coming out of the woodwork with schemes and deceiving information, in fact some already have.You're right, thanks to open forums, information here is a real mess. :)

Today's price in my market is $500 a month for 3 months; no trial.

Hi BP Community,I am about to place my first tenant and I used the $1 trial with RentRedi, so I went through their application process, which was relatively easy, streamlined, and I did like it. 

At 78 years old, and in this business for 49 years, THERE IS NO easy or Lazy way to make big bucks in this business - sure we call it real estate, but really it is about people and how well we negotiate the transaction with people and the words and statements we make as well as knowledge of how to CONTROL real  estate.This business is easier when we can eliminate the "gate keepers" agents, appraisers, lenders, relatives of sellers and deal directly with decision makes, those who are authorized to sign a purchase agreement.Over the years of Trial and Terror trying to make equity profits and cash flow and avoiding Gate Keepers, I've developed several systems to accomplish this; Nothing down methods (investing without real money) Control and Roll (using contract clauses and  a"SKINNY CONTRACT" that give me possession with assignment rights), and public auctions for fast assignments.This is a good business, it is not for fast profits or lazy investors, it takes creative knowledge of contract engineering, power prospecting and effective negotiations and a sense of honesty and disclosures. 

You should absolutely look into Indiana but you need to build a team you can trust which can take time (and some trial and error).  

I just started managing one property last year, and to save money I used a trial from a well-known online signature business for the first lease.

The truth is, you could read 100 books and still not know enough because certain things need to be learned through trial-and-error.

I have not invested outside of the Seattle area yet.People would buy a fixer upper, do repairs, and then refinance at the new higher post-repair appraised value, so that they may be able to cash out a bit.Contractors are best thru referrals as well as trial and error.Best of luck!

@Stephen Day check out https://www.vestmap.comYou can use the free trial time to see demographic info that may help in your search.