Then there are late fees and attorney fees that are tacked on and the thing finally goes to the court-house steps for repo auction with the people owing $145,000.

Research but have people around you who can help push you to that next step when the time is right.

Read my article right here on BP about why they should.http://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/3840/blog_posts/27179-seven-reasons-a-seller-should-hold-a-mortgage Make it your policy that if the seller won't hold a mortgage and it is not the deal of the century, keep looking.

Yet I wanted to get some input from those current Pa. landlords as to what steps are needed to move in a better direction that would benefit buy and hold investors.

Once POA is in their system you can request any info including change of mailing address from your seller to yours, cancellation of policy, pay off request,etc.If you miss this simple step you may find yourself in hot waters looking for seller's whereabouts, cooperation, etc..

Also - here's a couple articles you might enjoy:The 21 Best Real Estate Investing Books Ever How to Rent Your House: The Definitive Step by Step GuideHow to Be a Landlord: Ten Tips for SuccessHow to Start Investing In Real Estate at a Young AgeSeeya around the site!

So, I'd say your first step is identify a market.

I have a lot to learn and look forward to gleaning all I can from this site--and any recommended resources--before I start taking small steps to become my own investor.I'm mostly interested in investing for income as a means of supplementing and diversifying my retirement.

These properties are not in war zones but the next step up.

The useful piece is how he lays out the steps you will need to do to actually have a successful small business.