Now that we are ready to make real estate our full time occupation we wanted to have a plan that would get us the most money up front as possible but also allowed us to buy and hold properties that made sense financially.  

Since then I have worked for millwork and casework companies as a custom impact and design pressure rated (hurricane rated) door maker, production manager as well as a draftsman and project engineer.

There can also be an expectation in married couples that the guys are the real decision makers.  

If rhd1707 can make real estate investing work you can do it to.Since you are looking to do one deal at a time you will find a way.

If buying using a realtor, you should make it a goal to do no worse than that "1% rule", since properties that meet the "1% rule" usually are fortunate to break even AT BEST.The advice of the other posts is well worth pondering before you engage in a transaction that isn't a money-maker.

We have duplexes in Indianapolis that are great money makers. 

I learned to find and make real estate deals from Pete Vekselman and Jeff Warneke (his then partner) back in the early 2000's.  

She is going to verify actually numbers & her interest rate & payments.Insurance- $160Taxes- $86Principal/Interest- $710@Jason Hirko house was repaired to make rent ready.

For your model, 1% appreciation on real estate seems quite low.Re: taxes, if held in a taxable account and using current tax laws, you have a lot of deductions each year (property taxes, interest on your mortgage, depreciation, etc) that can make real estate a very tax efficient investment so your true after tax return may be higher than a stock account depending on if you are using indexing or trading frequently.

I wouldn't consider that shady as she responded pretty quickly.Is she the only decision maker for the estate?