I do like the built in leasing that apartments offers over the OG Cozy site, but I don't really want to pigeon hole myself into the apartments.com brand (or Zillow, or any other of the type) so I'm starting to use rent redi.

Great points, ZharaBirmingham has relatively steady and diverse rental demand, and I’ve seen many investors I work with have success with C/B class buy-and-holds.Location is key—areas near UAB, major employers, and popular suburbs tend to have the strongest rental demand, while C/D class markets offer solid affordable housing and Section 8 opportunities.

You'll want to compare offers from different lenders before you settle on an SBA loan offer.

Prime is more expensive but offers a bit more robust documents, etc.

I'll admit, I spent the better part of one year in 2012/2013 looking at properties and putting in offers, before one finally hit and I've been off and running since. 

It had been listed almost a year when we made an offer.

All the agent does is submit the offer, escrow provides all of the prompts, and Docusign makes it so easy.

Many firms will offer bookkeeping, but they outsource overseas and mark up the price.

Once you build it correctly, you can offer it to other investors as a service.

In fact, some of the best opportunities in real estate come from properties that others overlook—distressed homes with potential that just need the right investor to bring them back to life.If you’ve been in the game long enough, you know that distressed properties can offer huge upside, but they also come with their own set of challenges.