I don't necessarily need the standard features of pm software, such as rent collection, bookkeeping and maintenance requests, though that could help; but do need a clearinghouse of important information, such as leases, legal docs and other information; maintenance vendors I use; maintenance history; and some kind of tracking system, where I can record the various current projects I'm working on within the business.

You don't need a mortgage broker, just a reputable, competent direct lender that will ask the important questions upfront to properly screen your deal.

While raising money is an important skill, what makes or breaks the investment will be operations. 

The most important move is to get this tenant out of your investment as soon as possible.

Marcus & Millichap’s report also mentions the importance of universities to Pittsburgh’s rental market, “The considerable number of universities in Pittsburgh will provide a diverse hiring pool for the area’s growing tech sector in 2017 and beyond.

If it’s not written down, when you get to the end of the year, you won’t be able to determine if your year exceeded expectations or not.Schedule a meeting with your CPA to discuss your goals and tax planning.After all of your budgeting and goal planning, there’s another very important step.

Finally, check with the Town to make sure there are no municipal liens, Make sure they're on Town sewer, check with the tax assessor to see how many bedrooms the tax office thinks there are, (important if you are flipping) buy ok to have more bedrooms if you are planning to buy and hold.  

These are questions I would ask and as you noted, if it seems to good to be true.....I have not dove into this in detail, this is just what the "sniff test" questions I would ask - could be a great investment for people - I am just telling you what I would ask. question would be who is the lender with a proven track record as you note Chris that would be important to know is the fixed debt investments ( loans secured by RE) bringing in say 8 to 9% and the equity in the MF is making up the difference with rental returns.. so say rental returns are 6% and the Notes are at 7% that equals teh 13%  ??? 

You'll want to enlist a CPA on this to assist you- Repeating the above for Cancun, since it's a vacation destination already, I'd almost guarantee you that you cannot write it off 100%In regards to travel, it's also important to remember that even if everything is used 100% for business, the IRS classifies business expenses being valid if they're "ordinary and necessary".

I think we all know about the importance of black out curtains and a comfortable bed and linens, but after buying the wrong product, I have learned how important a good vacuum is to many travelers.