You are fired up and want to pull others up hill with you.That's amazing and the fact of the matter is that you have a solid plan to acquire, repair, rent and then look to repeat the process.Congratulations and good luck with your next search.

Best thing to do is surround yourself with a solid local team.

No, you don't have to do it if the project is not a solid business decision to pursue.

If you are starting off in Northern Oakland County, lots of solid Real Estate in Northern Oakland/Macomb County.  

I agree that I should go easy into investing and even if it doesn't pan out for the near future I definitely want to learn as much as possible so that when I am done with school I already have a solid knowledge base.   

I am planning to move to San Jose, CA soon for work, and was considering setting roots here since I might stay a few years.

It's been on the market for about 2 months and she can't land a solid buyer.  

You have to interview buyers under the time constraint of the purchase contract...and you might not find a buyer, might find buyers that have criteria that doesn't match what you found, might find only buyers that aren't real, or find a real buyer only at the last minute that knows there is a gun to your head and you have no negotiating power.A better approach is to align yourself with a couple of really solid, active, no-nonsense buyers.

Insurance is a bit more, especially on the Victorian, but they are solid houses!

@Daniel Harnsberger The east end area does seem to be solid for investors.