Our cabins were either purchased prior to the significant increase in prices recently or new construction where we had some market advantages and our cost was lower than typical.I agree with Tim completely when he said "...the moral of the story is make sure you have a SOLID cash flow and can ride it out".

Find an agent that will let you come along for the ride. 

I have no intention on letting this corrupt agent and seller ride off into the sunset and attempt to rip off the next guy. 

Get properly educated before making a foolish newbie mistake vs. analysis paralysis & "you can learn to ride a bicycle by reading a book. 

I tend to go on google maps street view and 'ride down' the streets surrounding a property to check out the neighborhood.

Most investors do not have this liberty and that's why they calculate a monthly set-aside...it's actually a very generic and unreliable approach...but anyway....Your "safe zone" is all relative...if $10k addresses everything you need, let it ride until it's depleted to the point you feel uncomfortable about reserves...The flip side of the coin is opportunity costs...you have $10k in a an account that could be working for you now...its not a lot of cash, but you get the idea...Best of luck and congrats on getting going in the business.  

This is my first real dive into expanding into rentals out of state and I am excited but anticipating issues that I know I will need to learn.If the sheriff sale doesn't tick, then I am picking up a sf prop (the old fashioned way) in Rochester to turn out for student rent. 

I would also recommend finding an experienced hiome inspector that you can shadow/ride along with to get some first hand knowledge of the home inspection process. 

Those that really understand the market will be enjoying the ride for what it is, and stashing some of their new riches away for later.2.

The Zestimate shows a strong upward trend for home prices.I told my real estate friend I’d like to invest and he said we should hop on it fast since home prices are going up so fast to ride the appreciation which is about 2.7% each year according to Zillow.There’s a really great townhome in an awesome location that’s 4B/4bath going for about $230, which if my wife and I were to move into now we could use an FHA and our total would be about $10K.