Are you guys factoring in tax hikes in your purchases or preparing for increases for your current portfolio?

You better practice and be prepared to use it or why have it.

Once I got a firm understanding of real estate (enough to be dangerous, but always continuing to learn) I went on to Step 2 - Preparing my finances.

Get your ducks in a row and prepare an offer. 

For example, there are animals that have an innate ability to detect that a person with a seizure disorder is about to have a seizure and can let the individual know ahead of time so that the person can prepare.

The fats cats are on a free ride...............so be prepared for their greed to cause more havok one day when we least expect it. 

It can be overwhelming.While the courses will only scratch the surface and not really prepare to make money, passing the test will demonstrate that you can study and at least be familiar with fundamentals. 

We didn't move forward but I did have to do some market research in preparation. 

You just have to be fully prepared to bid on every property on calendar, every day, and hope to get one every now and then.  

The best way to mitigate/reduce risk is to be prepared.