People know which town looses people, where economy is growing, etc...

I see many investors saying they are buying properties with no cash-flow or even a negative cash-flow because they predict the market will continue to grow and they'll eventually gain a cash-flow and build equity.

And yes DC is expensive, but I am sure you and your wifes salaries are consumate with the market.

Here PM companies are expected to provide routine checks of properties, both the commitment and cost are baked into the service offering - so ultimately the client pays (PM fees are typically 7-10%).It still falls short of what we do in-house for our own properties (one of the reasons we are growing our own capability).  

I'm 29 yrs old, have a decent nest egg growing in a 401k..... what do I do??

I have a dedicated acreage (part of a 'change of use' to new 'best and highest' value model) in a dedicated site, barb wire secured, that might be suitable for wild simulated ginseng production. I just have one (curre...

I looking forward to networking, sharing, and growing with BiggerPockets community!

Make sure you introduce yourself to a few people every week to grow your network.I'm with @Ryan Swan on the cashflow challenge with small size real estate and would recommend scaling even higher right from the get-go since the numbers don't work very well in our experience before you hit the min. 65 unit mark (been there, done that).Send me a PM should you be interested in learning by doing mid-size multifamily apartment investing.

Those cities have shown growth and developing infrastructure to support the growing population.  

Local median priced home is $238k and the population is growing rapidly, far more people moving into my area than out.