That is a major mistake as it has nothing to do with making money.

But there isn't a lot of calculation involved, other than figuring out what your payments would be on different principal amounts, and any widely available online mortgage calculator can do this for you in two seconds. 

As for the rest, there are major differences between Net Operating Income and Net Annual Income (or annual Cash Flow – which I consider the real measure of an investment performance, how much money puts in my pocket on a regular basis) and Cash on Cash Return on Investment.Net Operating Income is calculated before debt.Net Operating Income = Gross_Annual_Rent – (Vacancy + Operating_Expenses)Where Operating Expenses = Taxes + Insurance + Monthly HOA x 12 + Monthly Management Fee x 12 + Repairs and Incidentals (Warranty, Utilities if any paid by owner and/or during vacancy, CapEx reserves, etc., don’t forget the CPA and Lawyer costs) Again Net Operating Income is calculated before debt - what matters more is the NET Annual Income (or annual cash flow): NET Annual Income = Net_Operating_Income - Mortgage_PaymentsAnd that leads to the Cash on Cash Return on Investment: C/C ROI = Annual Cash Flow / (Down Payment + Closing Costs)And I’m willing to bet you don’t get C/C ROI above 10% on any SFR in Austin area (based on these calculations and bought with conventional means, not subject-to or assumptions, or owner financing or other creative financing).

Major improvements, like a kitchen or bathroom rehab, do not.

(The majority of Realtors around here who sell real estate do not deal with property management)  Just my 2 cents ;)

Major employers are the base, federal agencies such as border patrol/homeland security, school district, city, and the hospital.

That being said, many of the courses from the MA in RE degree you outlined are offered online and in person in NY.

You can also check their reviews online at Google, Facebook, or Yelp.

I came across a turnkey companyhttps://2020realestate.com/ online and subscribed their mailing list.

Rentals have been a hot market with tons of amateurs and major investors jumping on board.