I spent many years managing myself and personally collecting rent checks. 

The strategy is built on your own personal cash flow commitment.

I have read all of the "trends" and statistics but now I am Looking for feedback on personal experience in the Akron market.I appreciate it! 

@Lauren MerendinoI strongly believe that your chosen market should be somewhere that you can go to in person / have strong personal knowledge of / have family or a network in already.  

Personally, my primary residence has appreciated around 6% in market value and I live in Levittown. 

I'm going to exclude my personal residence from this because I don't view this as an investment, I need a place to live.Excluding my primary residence my current breakdown is 47% real estate 53% stocks/cash. 

I am personally buying a lot in Casa Grande, Arizona.

I would network in person or in FB groups. 2-3 months to close is crazy.

I am personally very bullish on the Phoenix market.  

Another benefit is it is much easier to diversify into multiple markets, asset classes and operators.Just wanted to share an alternative - often active investing is the way to go, but it really depends on the person and it is important to know that there are passive ways to accomplish your financial goals.Good luck!