I think this is all based on preference.

And just out of curiosity, have you started playing around with note investing yet?

LOL.There’s a WORSE WAY and a BEST WAY to try to obtain items 1-4 aboveBEST WAY: College or Professional Association courses in real estate (real estate license course as a base) and work experience for a REIT or other professional real estate organization and capital saved or equity raised from private parties with a MODERATE amount of debt leverage and or utilizing creative financing with low interest rate debt (may be highly leverage)WORSE WAY; Any guru courses or mentorship’s combine with high interest debt. 

Duplex is a great first step into the REI market if you can buy one that you can put in a little TLC/renovations, you can quickly refinance in as little as 6 months and buy another property keeping it as a rental.Duplex allows you to use the other "Unit" rents to qualify for the loan or higher loan amount.Rent is a waste of money when you look at an amortization schedule and payoff based on a 5 year model your rental has (ZERO) equity and a home has money you can pull out.

This will help guide you to the best cities based on your expectations.

Just not sure whether (and what if so) there are any impacts to the mortgage/insurance company I need to be aware of, etc....Allocation is generally done based on sf. 

I recommend looking into areas near economic bases - close to Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Ohio State Campus, New Albany, etc.

Hi everyone, I am a long term investor based out of the Inland Empire.

It's a world of continuous learning where networking plays a crucial role.

@Sarah MazeIt seems like you sell the house based on the headache and the amount of equity can be deployed to continue growing your portfolio.