I've been an investor in the Lyncbhurg, Virginia area for more than a decade and I can't remember the last time I bought a house without first finding it on Zillow.

I wish I could "house hack", but the fiance and I just bought our home here a few months ago and she wouldn't leave our home to go back to an apartment.   

I moved here for opportunity other than RE and I'm glad to have bought my primary here, but I do not invest here.

You should have or be able to obtain receipts for any and all materials you bought to do the repairs you performed yourself.  

"Buy it, Fix it, Sell it"Read it after I bought a few cheap houses.

I've always been extremely interested in RE investing and bought my first property in Louisville, KY (single family unit) in April, 2017 (link added to my BP profile).

@Mike Sands Well if you bought it for $9k and its a wreck then there's not lender that will touch it. 

Have you bought a single lunch or cup of coffee for someone who's already making money in real estate?

I bought the Book on Rental Properties on Kindle and on the first page is a link for a free Audiobook of The Book on Rental Property Investing, 30+ Essential Landlord Forms (Lease, Application, and More), and the Poster: The Ultimate Guide to Tenant Screening. 

I also want to give a shout out to @Jdmartin (for some reason I can't tag him), and his bizbrainstormerz website, where he helped me through the process.I bought a distressed home in 2017, I remodeled it to a point where I could take out a HELOC, and then used that for a down payment on this rental property.