At the end of the day though, are you all recommending that I pay a lower amount on my loans (extending the payoff period) to save up for my first investment?

I can also tell you that the amount you have to improve the property is not equal to the purchase price.

I offered to pay the taxes of 6k. what's a good amount on offering him for the property???

Please click on the links, give them a read, and share your thoughts in the comments.First is a post that I feel will help not get overwhelmed with the amount of info that is here on BP:https://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/5868/52761-the-simple-guide-to-getting-started-on-bpThe second is a post that will help get you focused with your real estate investing goals:https://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/5868/52743-im-new-to-bp-any-advice-would-be-appriciatedThe last one is a post that will help you choose an “investor friendly” real estate agent.

@Mike Dorneman that was my thoughts exactly, would be to find a partner that has a process in place and bring additional funds to the table that would allow them to either move into larger deals as you mentioned or a greater amount of units in a much shorter time frame.  

If I purchase a new stove, I plan to only charge the tenant the amount she would have paid to have the damaged stove repaired.

Please click on the links, give them a read, and share your thoughts in the comments.First is a post that I feel will help not get overwhelmed with the amount of info that is here on BP:https://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/5868/52761-the-simple-guide-to-getting-started-on-bpThe second is a post that will help get you focused with your real estate investing goals:https://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/5868/52743-im-new-to-bp-any-advice-would-be-appriciatedThe last one is a post that will help you choose an “investor friendly” real estate agent.

I'm really excited to be writing my first post to the website that has taught me so much in such a short amount of time!

Please click on the links, give them a read, and share your thoughts in the comments.First is a post that I feel will help not get overwhelmed with the amount of info that is here on BP:https://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/5868/52761-the-simple-guide-to-getting-started-on-bpThe second is a post that will help get you focused with your real estate investing goals:https://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/5868/52743-im-new-to-bp-any-advice-would-be-appriciatedThe last one is a post that will help you choose an “investor friendly” real estate agent.

But you would need to have a substantial amount of equity in it for it to make sense.