I looked into the Real Estate fund as well, and because he was an UN-licensed contractor, I can not apply for it. 

Given that real estate, in the long term, increases in value on average 4% per year, does purchasing a home make sense?

It seems like a great opportunity, but as someone based in DC, I don’t know much about Salisbury.I see that it's fairly close to a hospital, which could be good for medium-term rentals (MTR), and it's also near a university, which might attract long-term renters.For those with experience in this market, I’d appreciate your thoughts!

I always knew this was a common problem in the real estate space and I was always curious as to what was the underlying issue.

Other than perhaps property taxes, turnover is generally the biggest single operating expense you will endure as a buy-and-hold real estate investor.

It will still be doing real estate activities.

You can be a business minded person and someone who wants to provide opportunity for others.

I live in the SF Bay Area and have decided to buy my first single-family home.I fully acknowledge and recognize that the SF Bay Area and California (in general) may have some of the worst cash flow numbers in the entire country.I've already traveled to cheaper Midwestern states to look at real estate opportunities, but have decided to invest here in the SF Bay Area as I'm purchasing with the intention of living in it first and foremost, and then renting it out sometime in the near future when I move overseas.I'm looking for anywhere in the Greater Bay Area/Northern California region (even Sacramento & Central Valley is okay) with better than average purchase price to rent ratio, and some appreciation (if possible). 

Though he is “professional” Real Estate Investor and Realtor, I am neither of those categories.

There are a lot of reasons that is a bad idea.On the other hand, if you could buy the entire condo and turn it into a small apartment, there may be an opportunity.