We maintain some properties in Chicago land area and I believe the items need repaired before closing.For those that aren't lucky enough to experience this, some cities require an inspection before closing and will ding the property for things that you wouldn't think twice about elsewhere.

As long as your description is detailed, pictures are professional/clean, and your rental is priced fairly, you should begin to get lead calls!

If you are finding good deals, then this would help help you grow fast and maintain or grow your capitol.  

Buyer demand is high in our market so this is probably only realistic if your seller is fairly motivated to get rid of the property. 

I've had a heck of a time finding an honest contractor that does good work for a fair price.

I know I would if I was your tenant buyer because I would know that if I maintained it it would look good kind of a pride of ownership thing.

This is a fairly common question and it does have some important details to understand:There is quite a bit of difference in how rental income is counted between a "FHA" loan and a "Conventional" loan. 

I think that’s great how you are networking with your clients that you have sold homes to and turning them into investors with you.Anyone else out there that has been able to maintain a job that you like and build a real estate empire that wouldn’t mind sharing how you did it.

I find it to be fairly easy to manage out of state, the only real difficult part is tenant turnover.

My mindset is more like buy and hold long term, like to maintain things inside/outside well for long term.