To become a successful real estate investor, learn through books, find a mentor, start small, diversify, set clear goals, stay financially prudent, obtain a real estate license, encourage persistence, take breaks, and celebrate small wins.

@Alex NARecommend exploring as many sources as possible to get referrals AND cross-reference them to get as much accurate information as possible.Check out NARPM.com, BP’s Property Manager Finder (BiggerPockets: The Real Estate Investing Social Network), etc.Also, encourage you to learn from the mistakes of others - by reading posts here on BiggerPockets about owners not having their expectations met by their current Property Management Company.

Make sure you are only doing things that you 100% know how to do.If you are in the Houston area I would highly encourage you to get plugged in to the real estate investor groups that are in that city.  

I encourage people to check it out.

It's very hard to play the game of real estate without it, and I'd encourage all new investors to work hard to maximize their income upside, and work hard to get into a stable position before obliterating your DTI on a capex nightmare.

@Adam GottRecommend exploring as many sources as possible to get referrals AND cross-reference them to get as much accurate information as possible.Check out NARPM.com, BP’s Property Manager Finder (BiggerPockets: The Real Estate Investing Social Network), etc.Also, encourage you to learn from the mistakes of others - by reading posts here on BiggerPockets about owners not having their expectations met by their current Property Management Company.

I encourage them to purchase travel insurance if concerned.

@Calum ShallenbergerRecommend exploring as many sources as possible to get referrals AND cross-reference them to get as much accurate information as possible.Check out NARPM.com, BP’s Property Manager Finder (BiggerPockets: The Real Estate Investing Social Network), etc.Also, encourage you to learn from the mistakes of others - by reading posts here on BiggerPockets about owners not having their expectations met by their current Property Management Company.

Generally speaking, we would encourage you to screen your tenants - whether they are section 8 or not.We would encourage you to collect a deposit - whether they are section 8 or not.A tenant can certainly be a "good" tenant or a "bad" tenant - whether they are section 8 or not.Now, if you are targeting lower valued homes...there are "pros" and "cons" to doing that - whether you are renting to section 8 or not.  

I'm sure the BP community would love to be updated on your continued progress and we encourage you to continue to network and collaborate with other investors.