I'm pretty much like everyone on here who got tired of the regular 9 to 5 job and dreamed of bigger and better realities.  

So basically someone that comes in cheaper than regular contractors who work for people who don't know anything!

Matt,I am speaking to marketing, when the lead comes in they need to be set up for multiple campaigns and alerts, I am speaking to several things:new similar listingschanges on the properties showed(price, sold..etc)market reports for potential sellers, which would give prospect insight on what their property is worth All of this data is in MLS and it would require lots of manual work to compile data like that on regular basesFrom what I understand all of this can be set up in Top Producer, so these campaigns and alerts are triggered automatically.Let me know if that makes sense

Knowing how to do that will help you make good decisions.Track everything you do and review it regularly.  

At first I approached the business as any regular Realtor would.

BiggerPockets has a huge wealth of information, and I'd encourage you to read everything you can on here.In terms of your goals, one of the best ways to get involved with investing in real estate, is to start off by working a regular job. 

Return deposit & find regular tenants.2.

It is also a pain for public accounting firm's, like ours, as the onslaught of 1099 worksheets coming by email, fax, regular mail, FedEx and I think one even came in by pony express.

The mortgage was about what we would have paid for a regular house and we rented out the other side.  

I regularly install egress windows for about $1000 in materials, I could probably find less expensive materials...