As I've come to terms with this I have taken the last five months to regroup and really think about the future which brings me to my post and what I'd like to get the communities opinion on.I successfully negotiated and acquired one of my duplexes in 2017 that I nearly have paid off (note balance is $54k, property value $230k).

@Fabio Cattolicoit's a great question to ask - i think you're thinking about starting investing the right way - but i'd never presume to tell you where to live.i am sure there are many cities in the US where you could be successful. 

That’s a 0.02% success rate—a 99.98% failure rate.The data couldn’t be clearer: you’re targeting the wrong audience.

You have a great group of people to help you and build a successful portfolio. 

Any success stories or, dare I say, horror stories?

Typically this means they will take longer to close, may not have all the information for the companies they work with, and most hard money brokers get their money by taking an existing product and adding extra points to pay their fee.What is your investor success rate?

Plenty of successful investors started right where you are.

Lastly, the barrier to being a successful landlord is getting slightly more difficult (still not wildly difficult) year over year due to tenant friendly legislation being passed.

Awesome to see a new investor-minded person here.. do you have a favorite real estate success story already?

I've been using the BRRRR method more recently with some success.