You are essentially building a list with all the records they provide of owners who, based on the filters you add, might be interested in selling.

Same goes for Leander so long as you know the neighborhood dynamics...I'd feel good about owning property there for the long term. 

At 6% appreciation, which I think is reasonable in this neighborhood, IRR moves to 25%.Option 4) Hold on to all properties by saving $3k/month of W2 income and refinancing in a few years if interest rates decline -- Pros: Maintains entire portfolio.

My strategy has been to look for 4+ BR 2+ BA houses in good neighborhoods that are fixer uppers / REO / foreclosures.

So my first point is to separate out these groups as they were never part of the solution.The best solution in my oppinion is simply building more housing and not necessarily affordable housing.

If you ever get a property under contract that's occupied the best thing is to send them a letter and offer them $ for moving expenses, and get them on the phone to build some rapport. 

I live in Los Angeles my whole life so for my first investment it makes me feel more at ease to know that I'll be near by my property i.e. knowing all the good and bad neighborhoods makes me feel safer investing my savings. 

(build?

I'd focus in downtown adjacent neighborhoods and look at land and new construction too. 43207, 43206, 43205, 43203, 43223, 43222 for Columbus Ohio 

A wealth-building move could be to borrow against your brokerage account.