@Mike D'Arrigo@Todd Burton  Although I am a firm believer in buying in your local market when starting out to get your feet wet.this is a sad commentary when investors sour on an entire market because of one bad apple.its like throwing the baby out with the bath water.However for most first time investor buying the cheapest rental in a given market is usually pretty risky frankly.. and those assets are more appropriate for locals who can stack them up and own 10 to 50 of them.. and run them as a business.I know its hard to fathom that on the west coast thinking anyone can own 10 to 50 homes.. but in those markets its quite common.the reason is Morris/Oceanpoint is only paying 5 to 10k for them in the first place and doing bear minimum in getting them ready to rent.. and from what others have said they are doing NOTHING.. :(  .. whereas say in west coast markets you can't buy any property that cheap even a beater is 100k.now in PHX you can buy 30 to 60k homes but they are in some pretty tough neighborhoods.. so why would Indy be any different at that price point.. ? 

Just add the cash flow into your analysis baby!

@Vincent Crane,I don't know about the other markets, but here in Atlanta, I don't think we will ever reach that 2012 (1996 levels) again.In terms of the stock market 2016 is a significant year as 75 million baby boomers will turn 70 and will be forced to pull money out of their pension plans.

Tenant takes her baby to the emergency room, where they fish a cockroach out of the child's ear....  

I sleep like a baby...

If REI is a path you want to follow then start with baby steps and see if it's for you.  

And thanks for recommending the books as well, I'll try to find the audio versions because the way my life is right now I can't get through the two I've already started...see the baby in the picture?  

Am I liable if a child is hurt during Baby Sitting?

I'm gathering bids/materials/choosing finishes, so when that baby closes we have a dumpster in the driveway and we get moving.  

The oldest is 37 and special needs, then I have two teens and a 7 week old baby I just adopted.