In my eyes, "heavy" competition is very subjective.

It's a hot market for eyeballs because of cash flow, but a lot of new OOS investors don't know what they are getting and where and how to manage it.Thanks, Jonathan. 

I used to have one many years ago and it never got very hot.

My father in law lives in hot spring and we go visit him once or twice a year.

Please include this subject line " (your name/date/subject)" and I'll respond directly to it.

ONLY when I pushed further, did they actually release those dates (and I received an email with the subject: Your reservation XXX was cancelled at property YYY), and those dates showed as truly open across both calendars. 

Seems like a great book but would like to find another book or two on the subject.

First you need to learn to separate the following:Maintenance: usually things related to wear & tear or tenant damage.Repairs: usually broken items like doors & windows, caused by tenant or nature.Capital Improvements: usually expensive things that wear out: hot water tanks, furnaces, roofs, etc.The seller is correct that Repairs & Capital Improvement items should not be a factor for awhile (ALWAYS get your own inspection to confirm).

I am going to be the contrarian on this subject.. 1. the pre license course is valuable as it teach's the vocabulary of real estate and the basic laws of your state.. its dirt cheap and one of the better ways to build your foundation. 2.

This is somewhat subjective to you.