I realize market conditions play a hand to some extent over personal preference.Thanks!

Or will they just be handing you their money and waiting for a return?

I am primarily interested in the hold & rent strategy, as I have a day job that I actually enjoy and would like a more hands-off approach to my investment... for now at least... if things work out with REI, I might consider doing that full time later.But anyways, I'm glad there is a forum on the web where a REI newbie like me can learn and connect.

Do any of my fellow Ohio investors know if this needs to be done certified or just hand-served, or even just mailed?

The two of these sort of deals I'm in had a significant amount of paperwork, comparable to closing on a house, when the money actually changed hands.

Long term I'd like to buy and hold commercial properties in South Florida.I just came off of 2 back to back deployments with the US Navy during which I spent countless hours reading as many REI books and articles as I could get my hands on.

If you like their selection and feel that they are honest with you, they are a great lead for investors like me who decide to sell their properties for whatever reason, and can hand them over tenant in all.

Are you an old hand at REI?

If you can be successful at even a handful of flips per year, you would be in a position to potentially add that extra property per year to your portfolio.I think this is a great strategy to start out with.

Any suggestions and help would be appreciated.Back in the glory days of the nineties real estate agents would hand out keys for VA and HUD properties as they were all keyed alike...today (at least in Raleigh) you can't even get an agent to show you a house unless you sign a buyer rep agreement and are pre-qualified and blood-typed...