BP's moderators are very knowledgeable and can pretty much answer any questions you have so ask away.

unfortunately that hack isn't something i can swing w my current stage in life. not even 2y into a new mortgage, wife + kids, etc. all constrain me from going that route.but yes, definitely avoiding the too-good-to-be-true types. if it's overly damaged or in areas w moderate or more crime ratings then i don't even bother looking.at this point i'm not worried about getting good cashflow so much as get over the hump of the fear, the knowledge gap, etc on this first one in order to get the feet wet.how/where did you start out?

If you plan to hold your rentals for the long term and you buy them right, then it is reasonable to expect a moderate appreciation in value over time.

Advice, anyone; PLEASE............MODERATOR:  NO ADS OR POINTERS TO LENDERS IN THIS THREAD. 

At least there are moderators in BP, much harder to getting paid-for-reviews deleted on places like YouTube.

Because this is your first post, it will not appear until a moderator verifies it.

Not sure what's worse - high property tax or state income tax with moderate real estate tax?

There wasn't a category option for Existing Member Introductions, so I picked New Member Introductions (sorry moderators if I goofed that one up!).

I can't speak to your state, but here in Missouri there are state level programs that help low to moderate income first time home buyers with things like downpayment assistance, as well as many local programs that tend to be more income dependent (lower caps) that I bring up to my clients who are new investors/first time home buyers.  

Moderator note: Please do not use this forum for self promotion.