With so much debt that will be require and capital expense that will be necessary, if this can be pull off you be the Bill Gates of BP.  

It's so inspiring to hear that newbies can get real results out the gate.

Continued or outrageous acts can be a felony charge out of the gate. 

I added a secured gate at the front of the property, created a garden for tenants, renovated the courtyard adding a fountain, and painted.

pretty tough go starting out the gate.. can you ease into it sure over the course of many years.. 

Few factors that drove me to mf right out of the gate: 1) only get so many Fannie/Freddie loans on traditional financing so I wanted as many doors under each loan as possible 2) can consolidate cap ex protects like new roof/siding (though keep in mind, bigger/taller property will mean more $$ for each project than a sfh--though still cheaper as a whole) 3) closing costs are roughly the same for a sfh or triplex so better to get a 3 for 1, 4) especially if youre out of state like I am, easier to track and manage everything for 6 units in two properties rather than 6 separate properties (I use property management but you still need to monitor/manage the pm).

When the financial crash happened in 2008, people were walking away from their gated homes, people weren't paying rent, and there were a ton of vacant homes being squatted in.

I have an opportunity to buy a nice 1x1 condo for $240000 in an decent area of Santa Ana (which is an OK area of central Orange County [it isn't the safest, but it's very convenient to a number of business/universities with lots of potential renters]).The condo is 713 sq ft, with community laundry, semi-upgraded (newer/upgraded cabinets in the kitchen, laminate flooring throughout, tile counters), carport + 1 extra parking, large patio, 1st floor, corner unit, lots of light, safe/gated community with good amenities (pool/spa, club house, sauna, small fitness room), location is convenient to shopping, freeways, other cities, etc.Purchase price would be $240K with 20% down.

Here I was thinking that I had done my due diligence by poking around the personal website you have in your signature prior to posting; when in reality I essentially just did the door-hanger equivalent to asking bill gates if he is affiliated with a computer company.  

So drive in, the gates will open at 7:00 in the morning, so wait for the gates to open at 7:00 in the morning and just start driving, you know.