I close on my first property (duplex) on Tuesday, but have encountered the first obstacle. 

Whether in real estate or something else, it can be very upsetting and disturbing to encounter people who are so devoid of any ethics or moral character. 

I am a relatively new landlord (1.5 years) and encountering my first major issue.

In looking at the property, there was an inspection sticker showing failure due to leaked oil tank.I'd be open to chatting with you if you need to understand the basics of "putting a house back together" after its been gutted.Good luck.

That can happen even with a property management company, but far less likely.Here are the types of things we have encountered just this last 12 months that can potentially cause refunds/loss of rent due to the cabin being off market:1. 

I've encountered some unexpected challenges with my lender that have raised concerns about the investment potential in this area.Here's a bit of context: The property I'm interested in is a 3-bedroom (5 beds), fully furnished, with a creek in the backyard, a fire pit, a basement, and some recreational amenities.

Not owning your rentals through an LLC exposes you to more risk, even if you have an insurance policy on rentals.However, as a new investor, you may encounter some challenges and opportunities leveraging the LLC.

@Wendell De Guzmanthat's all fine, but "systems" do not make you money, being able to encounter any type of situation, any type of property, in any location in your market and being able to devise your own "system" to solve problems, bring properties to a higher and best use, to fill and satisfy a need, is what makes you money.Not all RE provides an opportunity to make money off of it immediately or even in the near future, being able to identify properties that can makes you money.While you may follow a "system" and you can make money when you get use to that "system" but I can assure you that you are leaving more money on the table than you're making by walking past all the other opportunities that don't fit in that "system". :)A good investor can design a deal, they solve problems, not just property issues but social issues, financial issues, tax issues, regulatory issues and legal issues.Too many folks try to get into RE thinking they are walking into a store and picking up a box of RE strategies.

The reason is that interest rates are the lowest you are likely to encounter for the rest of your life, so locking into the low rates for a long time is beneficial.

While most of the properties I’m currently looking at tend to be superficial, this business does run the risk of encountering issues that are unforeseen.