Bet on number 7 in the second race if you live across from the track....No really.....One oddball I have read in a couple of books and even online (here and elsewhere) that may have some merit is juding a potential property/tenants by their vehicles....( not the only metric for sure but just one observable factor of many to consider along with all the other data points and best practices).If the place you are looking at has a bunch of older inefficient, beater cars in the lot, this may be a management issue (leaking oil, immobile cars, unsightly) AND also eating up the tenants monthly paychecks in repairs, fuel, etc. 

I have only been working for a month now as I graduated in December, but I am still Living with my parents, no car payment, barely any expenses, (still eating their food mostly 😉) I will be bringing in about 3k a month, and I think after some minor expenses, I will be saving about 1k a month for a down payment, as well as save up another 2k for an engagement ring (over 2-3 months)!

A good mortgage broker or banker can advise you on the details ...OK ... this is my beef with the Podcasts and success stories like these ... most of the time if you study them carefully, the person with the success story is what I would consider a newbie ... they may have a few deals under their belt, but have only been in this business a few years, so all they've ever seen from a RE market is green pastures, they haven't lived through a downturn.

However, the definition of “passive” escapes me and there seems to be no concrete definition.I do not want to risk my status or possibility of delaying my green card application.I was hoping that someone can help me shed some light on my situation and how I can proceed in the best possible manner.

For normal folks, or out of state investors, the bad parts of any town will eat your lunch and cashflow in a hurry.

@Ryan Green - I would first determine if the deal is good.  

People say the tax and cleaning fees eat into your margins but looks like everyone charges the renters so I dont see a problem there.

in tight markets like Vegas folks are just not going to e mail you or call you with deals that make you 30 to 50k out of the goodness of their hearts.this is a dog eat dog business never forget that.

Ask for best an final and set a deadline.Hope for a little more from the cash offer and then accept it unless 1 and 2 go up in offer significantly making it worth taking the risk they fall out of escrow.Cash is and always will be king unless the difference is too much loss to eat.

@Franky Juwana @Bill Hinshaw is right, that's a big renovation for a first time, and if you're financing any of it, because of the extra time it's going to take you your financing costs are going to eat you alive.