Don’t be distracted by people with other plans and ways.

Capacity and Tolerance. 1) Capacity: how many people can you comfortably fit in the property, is there room to add more, or add more value to the tenants to increase rent.2) Tolerance: How many people are you comfortable living with, if there are vacancies are you able to handle that.House hacking is an amazing path to homeownership, and a nice low barrier to entry into self managing your properties.

A well connected agent can also tap into their network.. for instance, probate attorneys might know of people seeking short-term solutions.

I think once you have 10 or more, it's probably smart to have your own people. 

I really trusted my agent and knew several people who had invested in Reno so I took the leap after trying and failing for years to buy my own home in really high cost cities where I lived (NYC, DC, SF Bay area). 

@Shaylynn O'LearyI think I may have posted this in response to you in another thread a while back, but here goes again.If you pick a random "low cost" market like the ones you named, don't know anyone there, don't set up a network, buy random properties, and turn them over to people you've never met to manage, you will most likely lose money. 

Remember, the notion of amassing wealth without investing is a dangerous myth perpetuated by self-proclaimed experts.

Just curious what people have ran across to build these days?

If times get financially difficult will people stop eating or will they stop going to the doctor (unless its an emergency)?

Start small, build a reserve fund, and work with local experts to ensure your first investment is a solid one.Good luck!