By the way, I am not getting any commission for my opinion, or I am affiliated or anything.

In my opinion, the 1% rule was a good rule of thumb during the 2010's.

In any event, we can continue to disagree about this and I look forward to the SEC's opinion on it.Syndications are investments for multi millionaires with plenty of money to lose gambling on real estate.

You are right about the risk that comes with the holding period but in my opinion sometimes you have to take the risk and make sure the profit that you generate is higher than the costs that you paid by holding the deal for a specific amount of time.

Owner response is the key to "bad" reviews in my opinion.

My opinion is that an umbrella policy will provide easier and more comprehensive asset protection. 

Here’s our OPINION for the Metro Detroit market (use as a template for your target area!)

Many have their own opinions/perspective of loopnet for deal flow, but at a minimum you can see who the active brokers are in a particular area.

When I expressed interest in one of the houses he mentioned to me, it was sold already. 

Trust me, I have been there.I suggest you try to House hack in cities that you are already familiar with and have some connection with.Hire a great investor agent in that market and ask them all your questions and concerns.That I believe is the best way to get personalized advice tailored to your goals and lifestyle.You giving out Cleeveland and Toledo on your post will only attract biased opinions and advise.Only you know what you truly like, want, and can deal with.As Nicolas said, read this post and comments and hope that gives you a new perspective. https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/12/topics/1215726-break...https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/963/topics/1195280-expe...https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/48/topics/1137397-balti...Goodluck and keep us posted.