Can you imagine your monthly property tax liability being larger than your mortgage?

I recently renovated my duplex in an upscale area of north jersey. 

I moved very recently from Connecticut, where I had invested in duplex and single family properties and am looking to leverage the economies of scale that generally come with the larger asset class.Looking forward to working with all of you!

I recommend leveraging to build a larger portfolio.

While the property may not still return 20% cash on cash, it would not be losing money on a monthly cash flow basis (hopefully..)But I think that is lazy and irresponsible, especially if you own anything more than a property or two.So I generally try to run what if scenarios on each property and then subsequently run what ifs on my larger portfolio to make sure that the portfolio can weather any economic storm that may come through.I have only been in RE for a few years and didn't gain the experience from 2008 so my question to the group is what scenarios do you test or have you encountered? 

Several separators besides experience is connections and relationship w/brokers to get better deals,  financial might to get larger deals and scale their operations, clustering strategies to further reduce risks and costs, etc.  

You might consider both (asking for references, and scouting the early bird material buyers in different sections of store) so that you have contacts for quick-and-dirty jobs, as well as larger projects.  

Has anyone ever closed on vacant land or a property and demolished it to direct a larger commercial development project for their first deal? 

Looking for any and all advice on getting into real estate in the greater Seattle area I'm brand new at this and have a long way to go till I purchase my first investment however my first I plan on being a duplex or larger multiplex to reside in one of the units while I work towards more property's.

Any recommendations for a General Contractor that can do a renovation on a duplex in Salisbury?