(I'm new, so the thought of getting renters with a property is appealing, less work to market the property and screen if the property is set up an functioning well as is.

Earnest money however is not required; nevertheless, a consideration of some amount certainly would make an offer more appealing to a seller over one where there is no earnest money which essentially shows good faith.

Since water is paid quarterly, I suspect you have 3 mths reflected in your number.Insurance - this should be much lower, under $1,000/yrTaxes - you should have no trouble appealing this down to your purchase price.

I'm not 100% sure what area of Real Estate I'm most interested in at the moment because there are so many great options and strategies, but SFR & multiplex Fix and Flips and Fix, Hold and Rent both appeal to me so I'm thinking that might be the direction I'm headed in when I get some more experience under my belt, although I may find many directions that interest me.I'm really excited to be a part of this community and participate in these forums and I have so far had some great responses and interactions with other members.

The corporate drop out part of your story is VERY VERY appealing.

I know I can get this in the stock market but the idea of owning property appeals to me more.

Be careful and don't' fall for any get rich quick schemes out there because they are very appealing but 99% of the time the claims are not true.

The Poconos were appealing because the area is within driving distance and prices seemed somewhat reasonable.

It could cost a third the pruce of a new tile job just to get the existing tile cleaned up and regrouted, and then the end product will likely not be all that appealing.

I quickly figured out the sales world was much more appealing and would allow me to make more money quicker so after 2.5 years in staffing, I finally couldn't take the 60 hour work weeks and quit for a 40 hour week job in software sales.