@Andrew EastonWelcome to Bigger Pockets.

@Brett Prescott Welcome to Bigger Pockets!

@Brandon Turner's "The Book on Rental Property Investing" is absolutely great, and the audio version is fantastic - it is well-read, and he makes all the figures available online and tells you the URL (on Bigger Pockets) to view the figures.

Hi @Sean McKie,  check out the Events section of Bigger Pockets - you can find quite a few local events there.

I would leave it alone, or just make early payments till the principal payment is substantial bigger than the interest payment (like 80/20 ratio) and then let it ride.If you refinance (which you can do at any time), what would you do with the cash flow?

After listening to Dave Ramsey and several FIRE pod casts, blogs, etc. including this one...I have realized that bigger is not always better (unless it's your pockets).

Soon later, I found myself listening to podcasts such as Masters of Money, Stacking Benjamin's, Afford Anything, and now Bigger Pockets.I'm looking forward to learning more about real estate and making new contacts.

Have a mason inspect the brick exterior, failing lintels or joints that need pointed could be bigger ticket items plus can allow water pentration if you are not aware of them.  

@Evan TuckerWelcome to Bigger Pockets.

Your first paragraph hit on one of the bigger negatives for investing in NOLA.