@Michael HerrGranted I have not read every post on this topic (which is fantastic by the way) but your story about your tenant asking you to bail him out of jail absolutely wins hands down.  

BP is a fantastic resource for learning about real estate investing, rental property management, financing options, market analysis, and much more.

-contacts in construction is fantastic - that could be a big advantage for you. 

It seems like you have a fantastic chance to maximize the space in your existing house so that you can earn rental revenue.

.#3 Way to Get Leads: List Pulling and Skip TracingThis is another FANTASTIC way to get leads, and you can get a LOT of them quickly.

Areas around Newark NJ and along the I95 Corridor in CT are fantastic.

Fantastic. $600+ / month in cash flow.

if you can somehow - you rent out all the rooms in a house and sleep on the couch or in the garage or something - that's fantastic. 

Fantastic options for STRs when you control the space (and costs).

Driven by the fantastic schools it's hard to go wrong when picking a location in this county.