I have spent countless hours --- my own version of analysis paralysis -- trying to decide.  

The past two years I have spent reading books, browsing countless RE forums... the whole "educating" shebang!

Oh yeah, and in order to find the one diamond in the rough (out of hundreds) you have to spend countless hours researching the properties.Dan in Sacramento(916) 856-0026

We have done countless amount of deals here in the Baltimore Md. area and are looking to expand our operations.  

(The nightmares have subsided)I have made a lot of money, got stiffed on rent countless times.

This could be AirBnB, eBay, PayPal, OfferUp or any of the countless similar services.

There are countless tasks that fill the everyday life of a real estate professional.

Anthony, This is going to go against the grain a bit as far as advice goes, but in your particular situation where you will be living there yourself:  - Go with Avon, Plainfield, Brownsburg, Carmel  - Don't worry about cash flow potential in a year, think in five years  - These properties will actually appreciate vs. the rinky dinky 100k home (disclaimer - I have one of those too, not hating)  - Tenants will be more long term which equals less turnover costs (carpet/paint etc. is expensive every year)  - Less likely to default/evictI have two in Indianapolis, have spent countless hours talking to brokers/property managers and getting lay of the land. 

Once you get to a point of being comfortable and have setup a team of attorneys and servicer(s) in the states you want to buy in then start buyingOne common mistake I see so many people make us they spend countless hours trying to find dozens of sellers when they want to buy one or two notes.

I Posted this yesterday but BP didn't like it for some reason and removed it:@Steven Van Ginkel &  @Duane AlexanderThink about it like this, if it were easy to do it, everyone would and there would be no money in it.There are countless ways to try to uncover motivated sellers, all have their pros and cons.