And no I am not kidding in one of our houses for the last 10 some years just cops and teachers.

I like houses near retail and office....basically want the house to be in an area where people like to hang out, worhsip and send their kids to school.

Something else we did (but we were young and had no kids) was buy fixers/great deals with FHA or 95% financing, live there for a year, keep the house as a rental and move to the next one.

Geoffrey I am not sure of your age but will assume you are young with no kids....I started out fairly young myself, bought my first investment property @ age 24.

A lot of trust fund kids go into teaching because they get 4 months off and it is a respected profession.

They devoured knowledge like a fat kid on cake.

Its not easy for a kid out of college to get started without all that support, regardless of his or her determination. 

I don't mean that they are nice or that you would let them watch your kids - find experts who are also professionals.

I have only been renting my house out since the beginning of the month.We do have kids and our goals are to eventually have 15-20 rent houses to provide passive income for our future.We both have full time jobs that we dont plan on leaving any time soon that provide steady income.

Most REI have no clue how to establish my criteria for bidding don't kid yourself or live in a dream world!