Its a lot more forgiving and a lot less management intensive.

This definitely a high stakes game You will meet a lot of NBA all-stars on Bigger PocketsI did not realize how addicting rehab work was until I recently visited two other legitimate investors project and dearly wanted to be back into the gameIt makes me feel like I did when I played sports as a youngster~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~slam dunks – deals generating over 48ktriple double – deals generating over 33kdouble – double figures ~ deals over 24kLarry Bird baseline jumper all day long – deals generating 14kEnough of basketball fever ,,I would definitely agree purchase a great deal for yourself (homestead residence), look into obtaining yourreal estate license , attend your local REI Club meetings ,stay positive and focuswww.biggerpockets.com/forums/223/topics/76909www.biggerpockets.com/forums/21/topics/76598www.biggerpockets.com/forums/93/topics/76427www.biggerpockets.com/forums/67/topics/75610www.biggerpockets.com/forums/48/topics/75604

Real estate is capital intensive. 

It wasn't that labor intensive like 1 hr (figure 2 being generous).

It is really nothing too intensive, and it can be wrapped up within 30 days.Light Rehab - $7K-12K - Light Rehab could be anything from replacing flooring, painting, remodeling a bathroom OR the kitchen (not usually both), buying new appliances for the kitchen, landscaping, replacing hardware and fixtures, and maybe scraping the popcorn ceilings.Full Gut - $13K+++ - This can go from remodeling everything in the house, to tearing down walls to the studs and starting over. 

These properties are highly management intensive and the tenant base is often difficult to deal with.

Ok Richard then your saying the property does not appreciate in Texas which is what I have seen over time. and tax rates compared to other areas even without appreciation are double to triple .. take in the soil conditions the old etc etc. and its a pretty intense area to own rentals.. but its the economy that is the driver I would own there before Detroit .. but I think there are other markets that would warrant investors attention as well.

I mean, a $2.75M multi-family property in a less expensive market will definitely be more management intensive, even if you hire a property manager ... you still have to manage the property manager and count on hiring and firing a few before you find a good one and stay on top of them to keep them from robbing you blind.

But to answer you questionI like Chicago as you can get some mass there and a ton to choose from and you can buy value add which your going to need to ultimately get to your super high return that you must have.Frankly those with this kind of cash I just don't see going to in to these types of assets as they are management intense and the loss of capital is real.The bigger cash guys I see go for A quality assets and with that kind of cash you could buy a very nice 10 million plus properties that would give you years of income enjoyment while your sipping your fruity drinks in the tropics   :)

The amount of time that goes into training someone in Real Estate is intense.