So I wanted to share one in case it helps someone on the fence about getting started.Going to try to give the super quick story:  There was a great property in downtown Houston. 

@Chaz Mathias I agree that the market is overheated which is why I would be budgeting to be able to list below market value for a quick sale.

If you talked to me last summer when I was sanding glue off wood stairs I would have told you this is going to be a long hard haul, but that hard work opened a lot of doors rather quickly.

My main concern with managing myself is that I live in California and obviously would not be able to respond to emergencies, etc, very quickly myself.

What's their schedule like, and how quickly do they get back to you? 

Hope everyone is having a good summer.Just wanted to ask a quick question via a forum.

@Jim K.I would second jims advise- especially the part about getting a handyman in the area that can do quick REASONABLLY PRICED repairs if the need arises .

My goal is to contribute at least once per day to a forum and have quickly found success in that; I have gotten direct messages from fellow BP members who have found commonality from the few forums I have contributed to, so my network is already growing!

I think the 1% and 50% rules are both applicable for quick and dirty.

The  CoCR tells you how quickly you will recover your cost (how much you spent out of pocket) on a property.