I opted to go through a turnkey provider as I was willing to sacrifice a bit in the way of profits if it meant a greater chance at getting my first deal under my belt.After the mortgage, management fee, insurance, taxes, and maintenance reserves, cash flow is about $180/month, which equates to about a 10% annual cash-on-cash return.Thanks to everyone who has contributed here over the years as I'm one of the many beneficiaries of this fine community!

We all know that overhead gets passed down to the end consumer, and the big problem I face J., is that I'm competing with Craigslist Hacks that have no continuing education, that have no licenses, that have no insurance, that don't have a trailer full of tools, and are working for $15 per hour.

i was the last person i know to get a cell phone, the last to get a smart phone, the last to sign up for facebook, twitter, linkedin...fortunately, i never did set up a myspace page.not that those aren't great inventions, but i don't like to have my life consumed by gadgets, gizmos, and social websites.with that said, i see the value of maximizing social media in the real estate investing business.

Preferably you want buyers 1st b4 acquiring property & you want neighborhoods trending up 5-10% for lease opts You get potential buyer in prop for 2-3yrsIn which the build payment history, then can qualify for a refi- Some of the best strategies for top of mkt properties is lease opts/rent opts You get front, middle & end income.

Here is what we did but you may find it tough to find a GC who will work within these parameters & its time consuming but being retired it was just another experience for us.We also went with 2x6 because of the weather up here & it certainly paid off over the last winter.

I found cold calling works better, but it's more time consuming.

Or you could hire them to draw one up.I also found it helpful to read up on landlord tenant and fair housing laws:https://www.oag.state.tx.us/consumer/tenants.shtmlhttp://recenter.tamu.edu/pdf/866.pdfhttp://guides.sll.texas.gov/landlord-tenant-lawThere are specialized books by Nolo press.

Consumers can empower themselves with Facebook and the Internet without getting sued.

Consumer protection is paramount.I would appreciate any feedback .Thank you

Obviously, this is all time consuming stuff and you are under a deadline.