After spending much time & energy becoming more financially literate and learning the basics of REI, we are interested in pursuing our 1st rental property deal in the DFW market!

Given that the population in the MSA isn't rising, you will either buy an asset that just tracks with inflation, or you would have to be more strategic with your investment, as you won't see the rising tide that growing markets could have.

You will need to refinance with a commercial loan, usually with higher points and more down if you don't have enough equity.The main reason to use a LLC is to protect the asset from lawsuits.

I would only do it if you were okay holding on to the asset for the long term. $30k can turn into $8k or 0 really fast - whether that is due to unexpected costs - especially on an 1875 vintage home - or your ARV estimate being off.

I would love to find a cash flowing asset.

@Jae OalmerRecommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.So, when investing in areas they don’t really know, investors should research the different property Class submarkets.

This is more for future financial planning, but it will incorporate REI for the meantime.

Physical assets.  

That way you'll have some dividend income and financial assets to help you qualify for loans.

Thanks Scott I got a nice mention this week on Dave Meyers post about RE asset class. and one of the BP members a few years ago sent me a nice e mail and we talked through a deal he was doing and he gave me some credit for helping him structure and or giving him encouragement to go for it.. and I believe he said this year that one deal netted him 143k in cash flow.. talk about a Yatchzee..