Books, podcasts, mentors and training are a great way to get initial knowledge, but without understanding how to find/id deals, PMs and contractors in the specific market that you are targeting, there is still a large knowledge gap.

In my experience(3 dogs/1cat) It's insanely difficult to rent a home while having large pets, or more than one.  

----------------------------------------------SO............ my personal experiences seems to be far different than those that are really stating that these higher priced MSAs are not good for investing.BUT, as you can see, I have been incredibly successful by investing in these higher MSAs, but in my specific locations in Brooklyn, looking for higher rental appreciation and value appreciation as well as a large supply of great tenants and low crime.When I now go back to the article, which really is a bit misleading from the Headlines, here is the remaining part of the New York area statistics that I left out above:10.

I worked as a Maintenance Tech for Essex Property Trust at The Highlands at Wynhaven apartment complex in Issaquah Washington for 2.5 years to learn how to tackle the problems that arise with rentals on a large scale, but not really knowing what my goals or vision was.

I have never done such a large venture and don't know where to begin. 

(Look at a 6 house block and tell me how many are for sale, (the inventory is zero or a large percent.) or include 10 new houses in a 40 house neighborhood sold for $400k last year and only smaller used houses sold this year for $200k, prices have dropped 50%.) 

There are Michigan specific laws and there is a large document I can read to learn more about them but I'm sure it is not efficient to write the contract myself. 

Hard Money rates are too outrageous, some conventional lenders will lend for the purchase price but not the rehab, and lines of credit are an option but it's hard to get a business loan large enough to cover 100% of the purchase plus rehab if any.So, here's where I stand.

These large metro areas are only 4 hours apart but are right now on opposite ends of the spectrum.

He did a lot of the work on the house so there’s no surprises for either of us there.Terms offered include:1) moving in a renter of his (long time employee).2) less than asking price3) one year financing with large paymentsI like #1 with a lease from me, not to the contractor.I don’t like #2.