If you are ready to move to the next step (warning: actual work ahead), read on:The Wall Street Journal Complete Real Estate Investing Guidebook, by David Crook.

. - privately keep a journal - write it all out.

., the Los Angeles Business Journal reports.

I am going to use this thread to update everybody on my progress on a daily or weekly basis.  My goal is to have feedback, encouragement, debate and constructive criticism.  I had originally started a blog for this pu...

“It’s a lot more expensive than homeownership,” he said.To assess how rents sought by Spring Hill’s big four corporate owners compare with the monthly costs of owning the same properties, The Wall Street Journal analyzed information from the companies’ marketing materials and county sales records for 27 homes purchased by the four since the beginning of March.

the Poughkeepsie journal wrote a recent article that dutchess county has an extremely low vacancy rate.

Read about them on Wikipedia, City-Data, Local Newspaper, Local Business Journals, etc.

Just read in the Portland Business Journal that Happy Valley is the fastest growing city in Oregon (5 year growth rate).  

In researching local markets, try to do as much reading of local business journals and some driving (being sure to save mileage records for your accountant) to get a feel for areas with growth potential where you can acquire properties in solid neighborhoods with opportunities for forced appreciation (i.e. improvements you can make to the property to add value and raise rents.)

Get coffee, scroll Google News, read anything on economics (get coffee), Fed Reserve, EU (get coffee), any Wall Street Journal articles.