Historically, I've been investing in low income, inexpensive houses because they're affordable enough that I can buy them with regularity and they provide strong cash flow.  

What tools are available to help determine the market of a particular area is strong in Rental or Buying

My goal was to hold it for a long time because I believe the area will appreciate due to strong job growth and good schools.  

All of the comments above have been referenced in many publications from knowledgeable people in the investment field, but in the end it's all about knowing your market, understanding what's selling and having a strong buyers list.

You will still apply a CAP to the RV numbers, but remember you CAP the net, so you need strong and accurate income and expense numbers to go from.

I strongly recommend you have  the most persnickety inspector you have worked with inspect the property before you buy it. 

Lots of great connections all over but we also have a very strong and active contingent here in MA on here so make sure to find them (Set up some keyword alerts to find out about local topics) and get connected.Besides doing that on here make sure to get out to some of the many local investor events we have.  

Hi,I thought that a good first post would be an introduction and saying hi to everyone out there.I live in the San Francisco bay area, working in the tech industry with a strong desire of doing something that produces some more cash than what my bank savings account does (almost negative).Came in here with the desire to learn more about REI after reading Brandon Turner's "The Book on Investing In Real Estate with No (and Low) Money Down" book, which I read after reading Robert Kiyosaki's "Rich Dad, Poor Dad".

Residential properties of 4-units and less tend to weight the Comparables Approach more strongly, so there is less opportunity to create equity through intelligent management and maximizing the gross monthly income.Good luck and go for the glory!

It was a very strong fire and one of the residents died.