As a newbie to the world of real estate investment, I am looking for some guidance on how to effectively generate sustainable cash flow through rental properties, with the ultimate goal of building long-term wealth.

Immerse yourself in the wealth of information and inspiration from the BP community (I like the podcasts) and over time you'll find clarity around your vision and what resonates most with you.

To have a sustainable business that will last for many years you have to know and do more than just buy some crap on the mls and hand it to a manager.

When you find topics that resonate with you use the search feature to find more threads and blogs that can expand your knowledge.

I have friends who buy and hold here and they are having trouble maintaining rents.That said, if a deal works fundementally - can sustain cashflow, decent Cap rate, IRR, etc - then why not invest.

That's a number that I've seen sustained in my market over and over again, and if I'm inside that range at the end of the day I'm a happy man.That's not to say that I haven't had some serious partying going on when I've knocked it out of the ball-park and made 28%... or done the 'walk of shame' out of the attorney's office when I've made 5% (or worse)To answer your last question... yes, my number holds true across the price ranges.

Whatever you resonate with go for it.  

Good luck with beginning and successfully sustaining your path in real estate.

I am a Sustainability Consultant working to make better run buildings throughout Chicago and the United States.

It's not an overly complicated business, but it takes a consistent action over a sustained period of time to generate results.