if looking for appreciation(terrible strategy) look further north, in florida, there are plenty of smaller communities that are predicted to grow with our aging population.

Generally mold/mildew/fungus will only grow in a wet location without light and poor air circulation.

What will it cost for cap ex, management (when you grow and want this), regular maintenance, taxes and insurance (if not in mortgage) vacancy allowance, eviction costs, turn around costs to make the units rerentable. 

I've read that one exception that allows someone to keep their VA Loan active and purchase another house is if you have a growing family.

These can happen at any city, county, state, or school district meeting.Maybe in an area that is slow moving and not growing extremely fast, it is different. 

Now as I am approaching that mark very rapidly I stumbled across the idea of FHA loans to buy duplexes or MFH and ending up breaking even on your living cost and eventually creating cashflow when moving out. 

But I'm also not averse to being hands on initially, at least before I grow my portfolio. 

Your background and experience in construction will be incredibly beneficial to you as you grow as a real estate investor. 

I’d love to be able to invest in, grow, and give back to the community that gave me so much growing up!

Louis market for fixers being from the area.Excited about the future and looking forward to growing some new networks.