@Ned Carey , @Mark Cruse Hey guys, so I have been able to acquire to rental properties in this city so far (buy and hold) and they are both generating cash flow.

Do you think it's better to do a FHA on a true duplex and take the increase with the mortgage insurance or to do a cheaper single family where I could create a basement apartment as a makeshift duplex paying the 20% to keep the mortgage low and easier to cover with the rent it would generate?

Send me an eMail if you are ready as I am sure it will generate much interest.Sam ShuehROG, Cupertino,CA 

Comps for predominantly rental areas are driven by the income it generates & market sales reflect the proper usage of the property, vacant or occupied. 

There are a couple of investment reasons not to do it, one you will reduce your return on investment and second, based on the opportunity value of cash, you are buying cash flow at a rate of $2 for ever $1 it generates.

It seems like it would be a daunting task to find and contact every individual commercial brokerage.

Preferably as many units as possible but with hidden value in making improvements (the unfinished attic in our current house was a goldmine) a.My feeling is auctions are good place to go for this but I don’t know anything about auctions. 3.Rent a property to live in for the first year I can’t subject my fiancé to living in a gut rehab again 4.Use the cash generated from the property and work during that first year to put together a down payment for a house for us. 5.Re finance the rental property and buy more property.These are my other day one questions: 1.I’m an architect, does anyone have any advice for actively leveraging my skills to help me do this real estate investing thing full time/ what career change could help me ease into this while still having a salary?

I'd never even think about going to a meetup that prohibits certain individuals from attending. 

A lot of people start out doing this to establish credit, generate income, and learn the property management/investment process.Most importantly, I recommend you read every book possible on real estate investing.

Mainly from google, but also from books from individuals such as David Greene and  Dave Van Horn.