Be prepared to spend a few hours going over the property with a fine toothed comb.

My plan is for the first 10 years maximum growth then in the next 10 pay everything off that way we can spend the next 10-20 baby sitting our grandkids on airplanes as we take them all over the world. :-)

On the other hand, spending $100 to have the attorney look over something now, rather than having to spend thousands later if the deal goes south, is money well spent to make sure everything is on the up and up.In a case like this, avoid using a realtor to have them "review" the contract.

I suggest trying to get your financing in place before purchase so you don't need to spend copious amounts of time searching for refi or LOC.

Do spend some time reading and learning the business and don't believe tall tales like "cash flow = rent - PITI".

Why would anyone even think about signing up with that jerk and spending $20K.

I have quad 4 unit buildings that are town homes.What I have found is it is much better to put all tile on the main floor instead of carpet or vinyl.Upstairs with the carpet it doesn't get worn down as much as the main level.When you evict a tenant with tile it is mop and go and not fixing tears in vinyl or carpet that can't be salvaged.The dirty carpets tend to attract bug problems as well.You can find tile cheap and buy a big area rug to warm it up for cheap.The key with tile is the contractors can kill you on the install fee.You have to find a contractor hungry for money.I can get tile 12 X 12 for 56 cents a sq ft.Main level I would spend about 229.60 in tiles,another 150.00 in mix for bonding and grout for finish and just put back old finish trim down and repaint.Can get a hungry contractor for 75.00 a day to tile day one and finish grout 75.00 day two.Total cost 529.60 for main level.I have 1,178 sq ft with 2 story but I leave carpet upstairs and on the stairs and tile the main.Don't pay high prices.Be patient and turn over rocks to find the great deals.

I'm willing to spend money fixing the portion of the porch roof which is not mine but I will only be able to do so much.My though is that as long as I get my properties highly insured this should not be an issue.

Find better deals where you can spend an extra 10-15% for insured contractors.

Most people spend so much time planning every minute detail that they actually forget make offers.