Most investors do not treat it as such and allow tenants to regularly violate basic terms of the lease.When these Landlords share the problems they are having, more experienced Landlords may seem harsh because we are attempting to correct a major flaw in the way they operate their business.

Latest Data On Houston Market From RECONHouston Housing Market Has Strongest January On RecordHOUSTON (Realty News Report) – The new year started off on the right foot as local Realtors had the strongest January ever....

She feeds me off-market multifamily deals regularly and knows the neighborhoods very well.For medium to large multifamily, Altay Uzun with Marcus & Millichap runs a lot of volume in the market.I’m a principal in multifamily deals around Hampton Roads and like Olde Town Portsmouth, parts of Norfolk, and parts of Virginia Beach.What are you looking for?

My criteria for buying are at least a 10% CoC return, and $100/month or more in net cash flow PER door (hopefully closer to $200/door).List Price:  $179,900Down Payment:  $44,975  (25% down, assuming I buy at list price)Repair Estimate:  $5,000Closing Costs:  $2,500TOTAL CASH IN:  $52,475Loan Amount:  $134,925Loan Terms:  5.25% fixed rate, 30-year mortgageMonthly P&I:  $745Monthly Rents:  $2,000 ($1,000 per side)Vacancy Loss:  $100/month (I estimate 5 - 8% on multi-family properties, depending on how popular the area is).TOTAL MONTHLY INCOME:  $1,900 ($2,000 - $100 in vacancy)Taxes:  $154/month (you can usually find the actual tax amount paid for the previous year on your city's website)Insurance:  $100/month (ask other investors in your area what they pay, or for recommended agents who can give you quotes)Water/Trash:  $80/month (this is typically paid by the landlord in my area)Sewer:  $50/month (also typically paid by the landlord in my area)Lawn/Exterior Maintenance:  $75/month (my property management company offers this service)Maintenance:  $100/month (people budget anywhere from 2 - 10% for this... if it's a well updated and maintained property in an area that attract responsible tenants, I budget on the low side)Property Management:  $100/month (usually 8 - 10%, but you can find PM companies that do it for less... just make sure they're good at what they do!).

Texas, lived in Houston for 9 years after graduating from Texas A&M and for the past year have called a small town in south central Arkansas home (El Dorado, AR.).Having lived here for a year I’ve seen what this market has to offer from a housing standpoint and there is a serious void of modern/updated housing, be that for sale or rent.I’ve decided now is the time to begin my journey as an investor.

As such, I'll never personally tie myself to something indefinitely unless it continues to prove it's value on regular re-evaluation. 

Other options might be finding a partner who wants to develop the land (if that is possible) and building a regular home to sell or rent when complete.

Thought I would share a little update. 

Meeting him for lunch today and will update my failure again as I learn where I went wrong...:)  If you want to learn some lessons, negotiate with old coverall-wearing landlords!

I also have a regular full time 5days/week job on W2 at company X (single office, no secondary/client locations).