Any tips to assist in self-assessment to recognize strengths and weaknesses?

In my area- I can find deals on the MLS because I'm a very weak market - so not a lot of competition.

In many cases you get what you paid for and most property managers are weak at being a good property manager.  

Most people/companies don't accurately assess their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

I am meeting with my HVAC contant today and I feel like this is an area of weakness for me which I need to correct going forward in my real estate investing career. 

It can be a heated discussion from time to time (or maybe I have weak stomach) but read them with an open mind.Hope that helps a little and good luck finding the market and provider that best suit your needs.Henry

For someone considering, think of the worst case scenario not only the rewards, this is not for the weak heart, it needs deep skills, before jumping in, try to do a couple of gut-out rehabs first so you will get a feel the 30% of what you are getting into.

It's difficult to sell if you discover you can't make the payments, and the tenant pool is weak, with some tenants losing their jobs with the weak economy.

In those areas it is typically urban core to strong suburban so can show multiple units in a reasonable amount of time.In weak suburban to rural areas everything tends to be really spread out.

You should familiarize yourself with how the various systems and fixtures function, where the weak areas are, and what troubleshooting techniques can help you narrow down a problem.