The last post I did here in BP brought me SO much knowledge and wonderful people who have extended a hand to me.

Chattanooga is a wonderful place to live, work and play.

Your journey into real estate sounds like an exciting adventure, and it's wonderful that you're eager to learn and grow your portfolio.

I'd tell them if they want you to pay $8K in closing costs, then they need to up their offer to $224K to cover the extra $4K in closing costs.What does your realtor suggest?

I still do and would like to explore this part of me.I’m here to “get into RE”, to learn and to meet wonderful like-minded individuals and mentors.Look forward to embarking on this journey.

Any other suggestions?

I've written a lot on the forums about all the reasons house hacking is the best strategy for beginner investors--feel free to take a look at those posts.I'd suggest starting with a more beginner-friendly strategy, get your experience from that, and THEN (if you want), try the more difficult strategies like OOS REI.

I'll ask about that cross-collateral at all, great suggestion!

I was wondering how many of you are using a general contractor to manage the project and still making a decent profit building spec houses?

Does anyone have any suggestions of other cities (in the Southeast preferably) where there may be decent numbers ...