Start saving up and buy your first place.

Investment Info:Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.

We're also seeking to buy a local (Raleigh / Durham) property management company to expand that business more rapidly.

I used to do essentially free consulting with new investors on it but gave it up for some of the same reasons - everyone thinks you can just sit at home and buy good properties across the country that are in great shape. 

., oh and BTW, the "we buy ugly houses" people you spoke to were likely wholsalers!

Many are buying properties, doing minimal renovations to keep their crews busy, and selling with small or zero profit margins.Cash buyers are a priority.

Many investors opt for building broker relationships when buying 100+ unit properties, but it also takes time to build a relationship with the broker. 

Investment Info:Condo buy & hold investment.

Until you have $1 million or more in equity and really understand how to use an LLC, I recommend you just buy an umbrella insurance policy for $1 million.

Later I was able to buy the vacant lot between for a grand total of about 2.4 acres.All the houses are in bad shape.