If you are a newbie, the greatest thing you can invest in is yourself.

"Thanks Mike, But we drove by and it was a little close to the road and we hated the barn color".Now I give everything I have and then as the questions come in I say "If this is the one and we want to lock it up, I can try and get that information".

I raised estimate by $5 to $80.Confirmed with real estate agent that I won't need to worry about Garbage.Cash-on-Cash ROI is now 11.45%.Also spoke with rental property management company and confirmed the area I'm buying in is up-and-coming and he manages several houses in the area.Am waiting to see current lease documents for confirmation on who pays for what, and if I'm obligated for anything I haven't considered yet (e.g., snow removal, yard maintenance, etc.).Home inspection is scheduled for Wednesday.

Yes, you can pay extra to reduce the length of your mtg and pay less interest over all, but realize.....your Yield on the extra money you pay in is Exactly whatever the interest rate is on the loan. 

@Thomas Van aken Renting the other bedrooms and sharing the common areas of the house I live in is not my idea of house hacking.

:) Of course the economy could crash, but that would likely hit the same regardless of the neighborhood you buy in. I

I plan on keeping one side and not renewing the other so I can move in. I

What you learn by "just jumping in", is what not to do...as you make mistakes. 

Before i dive straight in, i am planning to do a trip to the US to feel out some of the cities and hopefully meet with some property managers to get their advice on areas.As i said above, i am very new but have been trying to soak up as much information daily as i can manage, and from what i have learnt, my plan would not be all that dissimilar to investing out of state.I was wondering if anyone has done something similar, and if so would be able to share any major unforseen hurdles that they weren't prepared for?

Purchase price: $223,000 Cash invested: $8,000 Purchased for 223k but only put 8k of my own money in, I had a private investor cover the rest of the down payment and I make monthly interest payments to them as long as the money is in use.